Dark Fate
by Wookie7859
Summary: Two Carpathian friends grow up together never knowing that they were fated to be life mates. Will they find love in each other when danger strikes or will their friendship keep their hearts locked away? The sequel to Dark Enchantment
1. The Birth

**(Author's Note)**

**Hello again everyone! This is the sequel to my story Dark Enchantment...so if you haven't read that one you should look it over before you read this one. **

**I will warn you now that this chapter is a bit slow, because i had to pick up where the first story left off. But the second chapter will pick up into the best parts of the story. I can't wait to reveal all of my surprises.**

**Enjoy and please be kind and review if you can...this is only my second fanfic ;-)**

**Thanks again!**

**Ashley**

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**Chapter 1**

The Carpathian Mountains were so beautiful in the late summer seasons. It had been almost eight months since she had moved here, become a Carpathian, and a life mate to a very strong and dominant male. Elena had everything she could ever want and in a few short weeks she would be giving birth to a tiny miracle that she carried in her womb. Her tiny Catharine had changed everything about Elena. This one innocent unborn infant made her stronger emotionally. Instead of the emotional breakdown most women suffered with, Elena was tougher and more cautious of herself and her surroundings. Nothing would ever harm her infant or her new family.

She stood in the small riverbed that ran from her home to the worn pathway that led to Savannah and Gregori's home. Her Capri pants were rolled up to her knees and the cool water sped over her feet and the smooth stones below. It was evenings like this that made Elena wish she had the sun shining over her body. She had use to love bathing in its warm rays, but becoming a Carpathian had limited her to a life of darkness and blood. It was well worth it of course, but she had sometimes missed the benefits of being a human.

She drew up a stick in her hand and pushed the tip around the sand at the edge of the water. Savannah was supposed to meet her on the path so they could make their way down to the cavern hot springs together. Because the Carpathian women had trouble with the mortality rate of children living past their first year, all women were now to bath regularly in the deep mineral rich caves. A group of Carpathian healers and human doctors had traced the death ratio to toxins that polluted the very soil that gave them life and strength. Rich soil and the mountain's natural gift of sulfur turned out to be just the thing that aided in keeping their children alive long enough to be born and functioning until their second year. (That and a very gifted Carpathian woman that was able to heal and purify the earth.)

Elena heard shuffled footsteps up ahead and looked up to see her friend wobble down the beaten path. The baby that lay in Elena's womb started to kick feverishly and she had a difficult time adjusting her pant legs and slipping on her flip flops. It was always like that. Every time Savannah came near, her baby would kick and squirm until Elena thought she might need a kidney replacement.

Savannah waved her arm in the air and greeted her friend with a hug. "Are you ok Ell? You look a little pale tonight." Savannah said with a serious face.

"Oh I'm fine. The baby started to kick again…She has been doing that these past 4 months." Elena took one of the bath baskets from Savannah and they started their short walk to the caves.

"You know, every time we see each other the baby kicks. And then when ever you leave she almost starts to protest to me with more kicks." Elena shook her head and trailed her stick on the ground as they walked. Savannah just stared at her in awe at what she was saying.

She had been experiencing similar things as her friend but just thought that they were normal since she was due any day now. "What's the matter?" Elena asked when she noticed how quiet she was being.

"Ell the same thing happens to me. Only my baby kicks and protests whenever you aren't around, and doesn't stop unless I sleep or when I am with or around you." Both women stopped at the mouth of the cave and stared down at their rounded bellies. They started to giggle as they shook their heads and started their decent into the deep steam filled cave.

The water bubbled around the women's bodies and the soil eased their aching backs as they leaned up against the side of the pool. Savannah had made a new type of soap made out of the same ingredients that their healing candles were. The cave soon smelled of lavender and fragrant herbs.

With her hair pulled up high on the top of her head, Elena turned and faced Savannah. "Would you care to try a little experiment?" Savannah's eyebrow shot up in curiosity.

"What kind of experiment?" She asked as she shifted her body into a more comfortable position.

"I will walk over to the other side of this cavern and see what reaction we have with our babies." She paused a moment before speaking again. "I think maybe our children like the presence of one another and before baby Catharine destroys my bladder, I would like to find a solution to the kicking problem."

"Sure, I'm game." Savannah said with a smile. "Lets just tell each other when the other starts to react to the separation."

Elena got out of the spring and pulled a soft robe around her shoulders. She very slowly started to walk backwards to the other side of the spring pool. By the time she reached the far side of the cavern both her and Savannah gave a swift exhale of air followed by an "oomph". They both looked at each other and Elena started back to Savannah's side.

She eased into the water and rested her head in the side of the pool's edge. "Well, what do you think? Cause I think we have a very close set of babies."

Savannah shook her head with glossy eyes. "I think you are right, but what does that mean?" Elena couldn't explain what was going on. Something like this didn't seem possible. How could two unborn children know each other and sense when the other isn't near?

"I don't know." Elena answered honestly.

"Well I think I am heading back. My feet are starting to prune and I am not feeling well tonight." Savannah was close to giving birth but she made sure that didn't stop her from doing her everyday activities. And besides if she didn't get to see her friend occasionally then she might die from boredom.

"Do you want me to walk with you?" Savannah shook her head no.

"Nah, my boogey-man is coming to meet me at the mouth of the cave to walk me home. But hey, do you want to come with us or are you ok by yourself?" Elena waved her hand to push her friend away.

"And leave all this? No way…I still have an hour of soaking left in me." She waved her friend good-bye and rested her head back up against the edge of the pool. She enjoyed the way the heat felt against her skin and she started to think about the baby as she danced the cha-cha on the underside of her rib cage.

Strong soothing hands began to massage the back of her neck and the scent to sandal-wood and man filled her lungs. No one smelled quite like her Nicolae. _That feels so good. I may just sleep here tonight if you don't stop that._

Nicolae laughed softly as he bent over and kissed her on the cheek. "It would do you no good to fall asleep in a hot spring. You'll sooner turn to soup and I would have to fish you out with a net."

"So what are you doing here?" She asked as she turned around to get out of the pool.

"Gregori and I were discussing recent events and new threats to our people when he got a call from Savannah. She isn't feeling well?"

"No, she seemed a bit pale and I think she is worried about the birth. And I can't say I blame her…I am petrified about this whole thing. I know she is due any day now and that means I am not too far away." Nicolae sensed her ever worried mind about the safety of their child. He formed a fluffy towel in mid air and folded her into it's softness as she walked out of the spring.

His hands rested right above the baby and he started to speak to their daughter through their special connection. Nicolae would send soft pictures of the world they lived in and what her beautiful mother looked like on the other side.

Elena laughed and shook her head. "Why do you send her such disgusting pictures of me like this?"

He looked up sharply at her. "You are not disgusting and you carry yourself very well pregnant…so I don't want to hear anymore about how ugly you look."

"Nicolae! I look like a cow that has exploded into an elephant!" He shut her up before she could start at it again. He grasped her lips with his own and swept all other thought away from her mind. She was once again lost in herself. Nicolae was the only thing that stood in front of her and she looked into his eyes with great love.

"Before you distract me from anything else, I wish to go home and rest a bit. I don't think I am feeling up to par this evening either." Nicolae clothed her using his mind, and laced his fingers through her own. He started to walk them out into the early open night when Elena pressed a hand to her belly.

"Is everything ok love?" He stopped them and looked at her mind for the answer.

"Yes. I uh…just got a little dizzy there for a minute… I am fine Nicolae maybe just a little walk will make me feel better." No sooner did he start walking with her again did she stop in her tracks, clutching at her side in pain.

"No, you are not fine. You are in obvious pain…what is wrong." He sat her down on the ground to examine her.

"Nicolae…this can't be right. I think I am going into labor…" His eyes met her shocked ones and Elena felt her panic start to overwhelm her. "It's too soon Nicolae! What's happening to me!"

Nicolae shook his head of his own panic and he sent his call to Elena's doctor and Carpathian friend, Shea. Then he called Gregori.. He didn't know what else to do. He had never been a father before and this was all new to him.

_Gregori I need your help Elena is going into labor._

Gregori didn't respond for a minute.

_I am a bit busy with my own problems. Savannah started to go into labor as soon as I got her home. Take Elena to the healing cave and I will meet you there with the other healers and Savannah._

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The labor was long and tiring. Nicolae took as much pain away from Elena as he could, but there was nothing he could do to stop all of her pain. Gregori was across the other side of the cave and he seemed to be in the same position.

After the children were born safely into their world they were put in separate incubators by their mothers. Both the children wailed and screamed their frustration to the world as both the mothers tried to gain their strength to gaze upon their little one's face.

Savannah looked to her friend and smiled deeply. "Hey there…You just couldn't wait to join me could you?" Elena lit up and smiled.

"I guess Catharine couldn't wait to meet everyone." The little ones started to wail even louder and Elena pushed herself up into a sitting position as did Savannah.

"Gregori, push the two incubators together and take out the wall that separates them."

Gregori looked to his life mate for some answers, but learned early on not to question her and just do as she said.

As soon as the incubators were pushed together, the children stopped crying. Both little Catharine and Addrick calmed immediately and started to drift into a light slumber.

All of the life mates and healers in the room looked at the two in shock. No words were spoken but the air vibrated with what everyone wanted to say. They were all looking at a very strong set of children that had an obvious connection, and it was clear what was on everyone's mind.


	2. Still Just Children

**Chapter 2**

36 Years Later

The sun was barley descending into the mountains when the soil lifted off of Catharine's young body. She had one thought running through her mind and she just had to tell Addrick or she might just implode. Donning her hiking gear and her favorite "Indiana Jones" hat, she snatched up her boots and proceeded to tip toe through her sleeping chamber to her homes front door.

Her steps were as light as a feather as she glided just centimeters above the floor. Not even a mouse could have been quieter. Through the kitchen and out into the atrium she saw her prize. The grand front door was made of solid oak and she was only a few yards away. She couldn't believe it. She was actually going to make it out this time! One more cautious look over her shoulder confirmed it and she began to relax with her confidence. _Piece of cake._ She thought as she slung her boot straps over her shoulder and swung open the door.

She smiled wide as she threw open the door preparing to jet out to the woods, but she had run into a solid wall and screamed when she looked at who had blocked her. Her father Nicolae was a tall broad man with dark black hair and a face that seemed to be chiseled from cold stone. He didn't look too amused as he folded his thick muscular arms across his chest.

Catharine huffed and puffed to try and regain her composer. Her heart was racing a mile a minute because of the surprise he gave her. "Dad! You scared me to death!" She huffed out the words in a gasp and almost choked on her air.

"Likewise. Would you mind explaining to me, young lady, just where you were _sneaking_ off too?" He saw her wince as if she were hurt that he called her "young lady". He didn't care though. She would always be his little girl and nothing could ever change that. She looked like a grown woman now. Definitely inherited her mother's good looks and her wealth of dark chestnut hair. She was taller than most Carpathian women but her eyes were strictly Nicolae's. She had received his black swirling eyes and strong jaw. Her face could stop a man in his tracks and Nicolae would make sure to strangle any man who thought it ok to lose themselves in those endless eyes.

Nicolae had a strong protective streak run through him since the day he found his life mate. He was going to have to be doubly careful now that his baby girl was of age to be claimed by a man. There were simply too many men around here that were too close to turning into the very thing they swore to destroy. Any one of them could find they want to lose themselves in her for a brief moment of emotion. (A false high that would sell their soul to darkness and become the vampire.) A shudder ran through to his spine and he couldn't help but think of what life would have been like for him had he not found Elena when he did. He wasn't entirely sure he would have done the honorable thing.

Catharine looked from side to side and stumbled on her words before she found her voice to answer her father. "I'm ...um…going to meet Addrick and do some hiking." She wasn't lying yet at the same time wasn't telling her father the _entire_ truth. Nicolae just stared at her for a minute to see if she would trip up on her words and confess. But he would not be so lucky.

"If all you were doing was going for a hike with your friend, then why with all the sneaking around like your hiding something?" Ha! He had her now. There was no way she could have pulled herself out of this one. Nicolae was so confident in himself when he saw the "Deer in the headlights" look spread all over her face. He fought back a smile that was creeping through to his mouth. Catharine and Nicolae played this game with each other entirely too much. I was time he won one!

Catharine had to think hard now. The idea came to her mind and she rolled with it. Without missing a single beat she stood on her tip toes and kissed her father squarely on the nose and gave him a big hug. "I didn't want to disturb you or mom. You both deserve some time to yourself without me always underfoot." The puppy dog eyes came out and the innocent lip shot up. That always seemed to turn her father into the marshmallow fluff.

Nicolae was stumped. He couldn't believe she pulled that card on him. The little brat knew it worked on him every time. Damn it all he could already feel the color sweep up to his cheeks. He drew her into his arms and squeezed her tightly. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. I need to know where you are at all times understood?" She shook her head yes and then stared up to his eyes.

"So can I go meet Addrick then? He should be meeting me on the old trail." Her eyes lit up with excitement as she saw him nod his head in approval. "Yes!..I'll be home by…"

Nicolae caught her by her back pack as she tried to run past him. "First you will go and put on some clothes though." He still had a few of his own cards he could pull, and he smiled to himself for that. "Those shorts are too short and your shirt is a bit too grown up for you."

She glared at him as he added material to her clothing in thin air. Hands firmly on her hips she rolled her eyes and huffed out a reply. "Keep that up and you will be stuck here practicing your violin. Do I make myself clear?"

"Dad, I just don't know why you still treat me like I am a child. If you haven't noticed I am 36 years old and able to make sensible decisions for myself." She wasn't happy but she knew better than to disrespect her father twice in one evening. She was just so misunderstood. No one understood what she was going through.

"I understand perfectly what you are going through. Remember I was your age once and believe me it is harder for a male than it is a female." The voice of his life mate filled his head and he knew he was in trouble. _Quit badgering her Nicolae, and be thankful she is giving us some free time to ourselves._

_But do you see what she was wearing!_

_Hey He-Man, tone it done and quit being so overprotective…Let her be young. She will only get to do it once._

Elena always had a way of making sense when no one else did. "Alright, you win this round but I expect you home in 3 hours or I will have Dimitri and his wolves out looking for you!" He watched his little girl run with lightning speed to the large iron gates and disappear into the dark interior of the forest. At least she wasn't alone and Addrick was with her.

Nicolae turned on his heal and found Elena sitting on one of the kitchen counter top. He stalked up and stood right in between her legs. "So did she tell you where she was going?"

"She said she was going for a hike with Addrick." He stood there silent as he looked over her shoulder and into the woods on the east side of the estate.

"You don't believe her?" She smiled at him. Their daughter was going put grey streaks through his hair.

"She wasn't lying to me but she is definitely hiding something. I don't like it when she keeps secrets. How am I supposed to protect her when she keeps secrets?"

Elena placed both her hands on his face and forced his gaze to look upon her. "She will be fine. Addrick is with her and I am quite sure Gregori has a notion everywhere that boy goes and does."

"I suppose your right. I will have to keep an eye on her a little more carefully. You should have seen the shorts she was trying to pull off."

"What you mean ones like these?" She slipped her thin robe away from her shoulders and materialized a pair of low rider shorts with the edges frayed and tiny holes at the corner of each back pocket. Nicolae's gaze went directly to her rounded bottom and swallowed hard. Her sexual hunger beat at him and he could do nothing but oblige.

"Those are the exact same pair! I am going to take those things and burn them, but first I want to have some fun taking them off of you." He grabbed for her hips as she jumped off the counter and raced towards their bed chamber.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Addrick stayed hidden high up into the trees as he watched Catharine approaching. She was scanning the area for danger and trying to see if Addrick had shown up yet. Her movement stopped suddenly and then looked behind her, and then side to side. Nothing. She shimmered into mist and reappeared directly behind him and blew warm air onto his neck. Addrick about fell out of the tree when she reappeared beside him laughing hysterically.

"Serves you right for trying to scare me." She defended her trick and rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Well you were the one who said it was urgent that I be here and you took your good old time showing. So what's the big surprise? What was so important that I had to sneak out of my home and nearly get castrated by my dad?"

"Oh don't start with that. You wouldn't believe what my dad did to me." She straightened and jumped to the ground with ease. Addrick followed close behind and followed her steps as she walked over to the nearest bolder. She pulled her back pack into her lap and started rummaging through its contents.

"Why do you carry that hideous thing around with you everywhere?" She looked at him cross ways and glared.

"The woman in the village shop said it suited me and that it made me look like a college student. And besides I have always wanted to go to college and this is the closest I will ever get to. I think." Addrick ignored her explanation as he looked into her bag. She pulled out something and stuffed it into her fist.

"Now promise me before I show you that you will come with me to the place I found this." He looked at her and then back at her fist. "Come on! Promise me!"

"Alright I promise." She smiled and bit her bottom lip in anticipation. When she opened her fist a rich blue sapphire lay in the center. In the center of the gem was a small ruby. How it had gotten that way she didn't know. The sapphire probably formed around the ruby as the centuries went on.

Addrick's silver eyes swirled in her discovery. "Where on earth did you find that?" He picked it up and flipped it over in his hand and then held it up in the moonlight to see the stone in the center.

"Want to come with me and see?" She smiled wide and shot her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive matter.

"You know me Cat…Always up for a little adventure." He grabbed her pack and bowed low for her to lead the way. "Ladies first."

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**(Author's Note)**

**Wow That one went quick didn't it! Anyways i just wanted to say that when you read this story try to remember that a 36 year old Carpathian is like a 16 year old human. They act childish but have the bodies and features of an adult. This story is just itching to come out of me so i will be updating very soon with chapter 3!**

**Hope you enjoy! Review if you want**

**Ashley**


	3. New Feelings

**Chapter 3**

The moonlight was quite brilliant that night. The air was crisp and the sky twinkled with stars, like diamonds in the ruff. There was something different in the air and Addrick could not quite put his finger on it. He was pacing slowly behind Catharine watching her with amazement. She was rambling about something, but he couldn't seem to focus on her words. Her hips were swaying from side to side and he couldn't break his gaze away from the hypnotic movement. Her scent filled his lungs and the length of her hair called to him…begging to be touched. Something was wrong with him. She was like a sister to him. He shouldn't be thinking like this.

He forced himself to remember when they were children and he use to go walking with her and go swimming in the small lake outside the woods. One time she skinned the bottom of her feet, on the ruff rocks under the water, and Addrick helped heal her. She cried only a little, trying to show her toughness to Addrick, because He had always teased her about being a sissy. He never truly meant it though. So from that moment on he promised himself that he would never tease her unless she teased him first. But now he started to look at her a bit more differently. He almost stumbled over a rock when her voice broke his train of thought.

"Addrick….Addrick? Are you listening to me?" She stopped cold in front of him and turned around to face him. His eyes widened when she looked at him and he grew hard with need. He choked on his words and stumbled with his breathing. This was not right. Now he knew something was wrong with him.

Catharine lost her irritated look and grew pale. She rushed up to his side and placed her hands over his face. "Addrick are you ok? What wrong? Talk to me please. You're starting to scare me." He looked like he was struck in the gut and there was nothing she could do to help him. She was just getting ready to call for her father when he grabbed her hand and shook his head "no".

"I am fine Cat. I just got a bit lost in my thoughts…So what were you saying a minute ago?" She looked at him crossways to make sure he was ok and not just pushing whatever was bothering him to the side. Merging her mind with his, she saw a thick fog surrounding a thick wall of steel. That wasn't like him. He was always open to sharing with her. He had never blocked her off before. This was not like him at all.

"Cat…really I am fine. Trust me." He brushed his palms up to her face and rubbed his thumbs across her cheek bones in a very intimate manner. His right thumb found the very edge of her mouth. He lingered there for a few minutes and didn't move until he saw her blush under his touch.

Completely taken back by Addrick's touch, she lost her train of thought and had to force her mind back to this world. "I..um…was just saying that the cave I found the stone in is right up over the next bluff. But if you are not feeling up to it today, Addrick, just let me know and we can do something else." He smiled at her then and adjusted her back pack on his shoulder.

"If we don't go now then you will leave me no choice but to destroy this hideous pack of yours." Her eyes widened when he held her pack way up over her head as he lengthened a long fingernail. She smirked as she thumped him hard in the chest. He never flinched but he laughed at her and started to follow her as she began pacing up the hill again.

She could feel him close behind her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she could swear that he was looking right through to her very soul. He was acting so strange. Cat had always looked up to him as a big brother and her best friend ever. He is such a strong Carpathian male, that it is a bit strange to see him show weakness. He was one who would never falter in step or look upon her in that strange way he just did. This wasn't at all right. When he touched her face she swore her stomach did a funny little flip, but now was not the time to be looking into such matters. She was almost at the hidden cave and she needed to show Addrick before her father summoned her home.

Catharine stopped immediately and almost fell when Addrick walked into her. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Walk much lately?" Addrick took her sarcasm with a grain of salt and gave a quick tug on her long ponytail before he looked at his surroundings.

"Well…where is this cave of yours? I actually know this hillside very well and I can tell you that there is no cave here." Addrick scanned his area as he spoke and could not find a trace of an opening or a scent of sulfur that the caves in the mountains produced. He was about to ask cat if she could be mistaken when he saw her rummage through her bag that he was still carrying for her.

"What are you doing…?"

"Shh…don't interrupt." Addrick just held both his hands up in surrender and watched as she pulled out a small black velvet bag. His curiosity struck him and he tilted his head to one side while folding his arms across his chest. (He looked just like his father!) He absorbed everything she did like a sponge.

Cat untied the velvet bag and slipped her hand in. She pulled out a fist full of sand and brought it up to her mouth. She looked at Addrick and winked. Looking back at her fist she opened her palm and blew the sand away from her fingers. The particles floated into the air and swirled and danced like flames to a fire. She was whispering an incantation in the ancient Carpathian language. The spell was a tricky one but was meant to reveal secrets of all kinds. Addrick was quite shocked that she had advanced so well and so close to his own level of knowledge. After all, he did have one of the best teachers.

The particles fell in an arranged picture and it was clear to Addrick that it was an old safe guard that he had never seen before in his young life. He was already trying to solve the puzzle when Catharine had elbowed him in the gut.

"That was for that thought you had earlier about being so shocked that I was getting smarter." She glared at him and tried hard to keep a scowl on her face, but failed when he made her laugh with the face he made. He imitated her so well that he could always predict what she was going to do or say before she even did it or say it.

When Addrick solved the safe guard puzzle, the mouth of the cave opened and both of them looked down into the deep cavern. "How on earth did you ever stumble on this?"

Cat had a proud look on her face. It was usually Addrick that was good at discovering or figuring out things, and Cat wished that she could be as smart as him. Now she had stumped him! Addrick glared at his friend. "There is a first time for everything I suppose. So seriously how did you find this place?"

She lost her smug look and looked down to her feet as if she were ashamed at how she had found it. She lost her nerve and shook her head. "I don't want to say because you'll just get mad at me."

"Why would I get mad at you?" How could she ever think that he would get angry or upset with her. It wasn't possible…They were best friends and if two best friends could ever get closer then they would have by now. Her face turned a deep blush and she hung her head low. Merging his mind with hers, he saw something he didn't like. "What did you do?"

She took a step back and put her hands behind her back. There was no way out of this one. She could always buffalo her dad but not Addrick. He was the one person she could never fool or mislead. "Last night I went for a run and stumbled across a human at the edge of the woods near the village. He was sweet to me and asked me if I would like to go grab some coffee at the pub." She stopped and looked up to Addrick to see his reaction before she spoke again. His face was cold and unfeeling. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

"I didn't see any harm in enjoying some company…so I decided to tag along. He wanted to take me for a ride and that's when I said I needed to go home. I saw his mind, Addrick, and it went from nice guy talking to a sex hungry fool. He really scared me so I left and started to run back to the woods."

"After I thought I lost him I slowed to a walk and that's when I was attacked." Red flames licked in the depths of Addrick's eyes and she shuddered when she felt the beast in him rise. She shouldn't have been alone last night but she needed to vent and scream a little. It was getting harder and harder for her to cope with being so lonely. Sure she had Addrick but she needed more. She wanted what the women in the village had. Cat always saw young girls holding hands with their boyfriends and watched in the shadows as they stole kisses from one another.

Her heart was breaking and she couldn't tell anyone or share with anyone because she didn't want to sound so selfish. "You should have called me as soon as you sensed the danger to you. This is so irresponsible Cat I can't believe you would be so careless in your safety."

Anger rose up sharply in Cat. If one more male told her how irresponsible she was she was going to combust. "Oh stop it Addrick! You're starting to sound like my dad!" She could see the hurt in his eyes. She had struck a nerve that time and she knew she would have to apologize for that comment. "Look I'm sorry Addrick. I am just a bit stressed and still a little sore from last night. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

She walked up to him and hugged him tightly. Her face rested on his chest and she started to cry. Addrick sucked in his breath and held on to her for support. That funny feeling was coming back and it was stronger than ever. He cared for her. He had always cared for her, but now things were different. He was jealous that she would be with another man, human or Carpathian alike. He didn't want to think of her sexually but he couldn't stop himself he grew painfully hard with need and had to stop her touching him or he might do something he will regret later.

She was still crying softly into his chest when he lowered her to the ground so he could examine her bruises. "So tell me what else happened. Did he hurt you?" Playing the understanding friend when he wanted to tear out the man's throat was difficult. Thank god he had his mother's patience and his father's smooth expressions.

"She sniffed a little and started to tell her tale. "When he jumped me I fell down on the ground hard and got the wind knocked out of me. I could shape shift or use my powers because he is a human. So I kicked him hard and started to run up that hill over there. I could feel him coming closer to me and he was yelling something I couldn't understand."

"That's when my foot got caught in the soft soil and the particles flew into the whirl wind. I called in the fog to mask the sight from the man, but that's when I inadvertently opened and fell into the mouth of the cavern." Catharine looked away from his gaze and truly felt ashamed for not calling for help when she should have.

Addrick couldn't help the feelings he had for her. He grazed the back side of his knuckles against her face and caught her chin so she could meet his gaze. She looked him in the eye and felt that funny little flip all over again. "I think my bruises feel better now Addrick." She spoke the words as she felt heat and flames lick over her skin as he bathed her bruised skin with his healing saliva. It was almost too intimate and she was suddenly afraid of her feelings right now. Addrick had healed her on numerous occasions, but this time was…different….it was very intimate. She actually enjoyed it and kind of thought that maybe she should get hurt more often.

Cat blushed when she saw Addrick smile real slick at her. She should have known he would be reading her thoughts. _Get out of my head you pervert._

_Well excuse me princess. _They both started laughing a bit nervously and Addrick decided to change the subject. "So lets go see this cave before I take you home and tell on you."

"You wouldn't dare!" She placed her hands on her hips and glared in his direction.

He smiled wickedly at her. "Try me."

* * *

**(Author's Note)**

**Hi ya everyone! Sorry for the delay...I had a final to study for. But enough with the excuses! I realy like this chapter because of obvious reasons. It leaves the story up to so many possibilities.**

**Be kind and review**

**Thanks,**

**Ashley**


	4. A Strange Turn Of Events

**Chapter 4**

The opening to the cave was dark and damp. It posed not to be a problem for Cat and Addrick because they could see perfectly even in the darkest of places. Addrick took no chances though. There was something definitely off when he lowered Cat and himself into the belly of the cave. There was a soft dripping of water in the distance and the pattern of the fall made you want to join along by tapping your finger. It took a great concentration for Addrick to stay focused on his task.

Very slowly he inched his way forward while holding Cat's hand in his own. The walls shined like polished gems and the dripping was starting to get louder. "Cat, tell me how far into this cave did you actually go?" Addrick probed the question to her, fishing for an answer he was looking for.

"Actually I don't know how far I went in. When I opened the cave my head started to feel a bit fuzzy and I think I had lost my train of thought." Cat took a couple of more steps behind Addrick following his every movement. "I almost didn't remember where I was when my dad called for me to come home. When I turned around to go back to the entrance, that's when I found the stone. So I scooped it up and hurried back to the entrance. Why do you ask?"

Addrick stopped short and smelled the air around him. He was starting to remember what his dad had told him about booby traps of the mages and ancient vampires. They had a technique to hypnotize their victims using a pattern of water drips. _Cat, stay focused on the sound of my voice and don't listen to the dripping water. We shouldn't be here._

_What's wrong? What do you sense that I don't? _She was a bit worried now. She knew this look that Addrick was wearing. What could be so wrong about an ordinary cave? She started to try and solve the puzzle when her head started to fuzz up again. The water was getting louder in her head and all she wanted to do at that moment in time was walk towards the sound. Her body started to move deeper in the cave and her eyes turned cold with a glazed stare.

Addrick tried staying focused to the uncertain danger around them and not the sound of the water when he felt Cat pull on his hand. _Cat, where are you going? _But he received no answer. She was still pulling on his hand when he looked at her face and realized she was in a trance. _Great, Cat. The one thing I ask you to do and you go and not listen._

He scooped her body up and cradled her against his chest. He only took one step towards the mouth of the cave when he heard a low warning growl deep in her throat. Addrick looked down to see his best friend with flames and anger in her eyes. She jumped out of his arms and began her quest to enter deeper into the cave.

_Oh no you don't, Cat. We need to get out of here. _He grabbed for her arm again when she flared around and grabbed a fist full of his shirt underneath his chin.

"Let me pass." Her voice was dark and husky. A surge of strength burst through her and she threw Addrick against the closest wall.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Back at Catharine's home, Nicolae laid with Elena resting in his arms. They had truly out done themselves this rising and couldn't seem to find the energy to begin the normal events of the evening. Yes their daughter had truly given them the best gift in the world.

A flutter of uneasiness came over Elena and she sat up slowly, clutching the blanket to her chest. She looked around the room and felt a shiver run down her spine.

_What is wrong, love?_ Nicolae said as he sat up beside her and caressed his hand against the small of her back.

"Something is not right, Nicolae… I can't put my finger on it but I feel cold like there is a blank void in my heart."

That struck Nicolae a bit odd so he merged fully with her and closed his eyes. Panic raced through his blood stream as he scrambled to his feet and dressed himself in the way of his people. He knew that feeling. It was the same feeling he felt when he was hunting the vampire. Only this feeling had overwhelmed someone very close to him…his only child.

He was racing for the door to their bed chamber when he sent the call for Catharine. He got no answer but felt the cold void in the place of his daughter. _Elena, get dressed and stay here. Stay alert and keep calling out to Catharine, and do not answer any call for any reason if you get that feeling again._

_What's wrong, Nicolae? Where is my baby? _Nicolae paced back to his lovely lifemate and placed both his hands around her face. Catching tears with his hands, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"I will bring her back, love. Make no mistake about that."

She knew what he said was as good as done. So she wiped her face clean and dressed herself with the bravest face she could. Keeping pace close behind Nicolae wasn't hard as he hurried to the front door of their home. And then she watched as he dissolved into mist and trailed off in the direction of where he last saw Catharine. She sent up a silent prayer and began calling her daughter through their mind connection.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Nicolae flew past trees and open fields searching for his daughter. Her mind was in trouble, but he couldn't follow the cold voided path. She was going to be in so much trouble when he got her to safety.

This wasn't making any sense. He formed back into his physical form and stood firmly on the ground. The edge of the hillside he stood on was the exact spot he traced the void too, but he couldn't get a feel for anything else.

_Damn it, Catharine. Tell me where you are this minute. _He still had no answer. Now he knew she was in trouble. She would never disobey a direct order from him no matter how hard she tried. It just wasn't in her nature.

He scanned the ground below his feet and searched for any sign of her. He couldn't detect any life forms below the ground and nothing was making sense to him. He ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration and paced back and forth trying to find a trace of her through the night sky. That was when a bright green ponytail caught his eye and he bent down to pick it up. He examined it and knew it was hers. Now he knew she was here somewhere, but where?

He called out to Gregori and sent him the information he had gathered thus far. Gregori replied within seconds and hurried to Nicolae's aid.

**OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Addrick was completely shocked. Cat had seemed possessed and he wasn't able to reach her on any level. He had no choice but to call for his father for help. He was going to be in so much trouble, but he hated to think of what kind of trouble he would be in if he didn't call for him.

_Father, I need your help. _A shiver ran down his spin as he raced to pin Catharine from movement. He knocked the wind out of her, as he rushed her face down to the ground, and felt his heart breaking. He couldn't stand to hurt her, but he had no choice in the matter. She was out of control and he had to brace her until he got some help.

_Addrick, I am on my way. Catharine's father is with me now and we need to know where you are. I can't sense you or Catharine anywhere._

Addrick sent his father the information about the cave and the location right before Catharine started to bite and dig into Addrick's arm with her incisors. _Hurry, dad! I can't hold her much longer!_

No sooner did he say the words, Cat had silenced and stilled under his touch. She was shivering from the damp cold of the cave and she had no idea where she was. The taste of blood swarmed her mouth like a warm honey and a heavy weight was on top of her, pressing her chest into the ground. She couldn't breath and a new wave of panic and nausea washed over her as she feared about who was on top of her.

Addrick sensed her presence in his mind and he leaned down close to her face. "Cat? Is it you?" He held his breath and waited for her answer.

"Of course it's me you big oaf! Get off of me before you crush my lungs! I can't breathe!"

He let go of his grip on her and pulled her up to the safety of his chest. "I am so sorry, Cat. Something strange happened to you and I thought I lost you." He was close to tears when he heard voices coming towards the back of the long cave. "Cat, stay behind me and merge yourself fully with me now." His command was sharp and stern. He could not lose her to the weird possession again. She just wasn't strong enough to fight it off herself. Gripping her hand tightly he started to back both of them up to the opening of the cave when two young vampires rounded the corner to face them.

Addrick and Catharine froze in their place and watched the cold beings stare at them. At least they looked as if they were staring at them, because the one on the left started to scan the immediate area and sniff for some kind of intruder. It was odd that they didn't come towards Cat and Addrick with an attack. Addrick tilted his head to one side and continued to move to the side of the cave wall.

Not once did the creatures look at either Catharine or Addrick as they moved. They almost acted as if they couldn't see or sense their presence at all. Addrick sent the new information to his father and shared his sight so his father could see what he saw.

Gregori shared his sight of the events with Nicolae. This was completely out of the nature of the vampire. They would have attacked the two by now. _Addrick, don't move. We are right above you now._

Addrick obeyed his father and pinned Catharine to the wall behind him as he placed his body as a shield in front of hers. The vampires didn't even sense the movement. This was just getting stranger and stranger by the minute.

The being on his immediate right hissed and spit through his blackened teeth. He pointed to the ceiling of the cave and signaled his partner. "Hunters." The word was a warning and they sped back deeper in the cave to avoid a conflict. They obviously sensed Catharine's and Addrick's father, but why couldn't they even sense or see them when they were right out in the open and in front of them?

The mouth of the cave opened up and Gregori called out for his son. Both Addrick and Catharine came through the opening before it was closed back up. The adolescents laid on their backs as their fathers' looked down at them expecting some answers.

Nicolae gathered his daughter up and searched her for damage. When he was sure she was ok he grabbed both her forearms and shook her gently. "Why did you not call for me?! When we get home you have a lot of explaining to do."

Nicolae and Gregori looked at each other and thought the same thing. They had to find out what was going on with their children and their new discovery. Their find was certainly no coincidence, and they hand to solve the puzzle before they were placed in an even greater danger then they were already.

**OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Elena sat at the kitchen table with Savannah, waiting for their children and lifemates to return home. They had received word that everyone was ok and that they would all be coming back to Nicolae's home to counsel their kids.

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours when they heard footsteps on the front porch. The door creaked open and two heads peered in. Both women jumped to their feet and ran to cuddle their kids in their arms. Not once in their lives had they thought about a vampire putting the lives of their children in danger. They all thought that vampires had been long gone from these mountains. It would be a death wish for any vampire to come to the Carpathian Mountains. There were simply too many hunters here to protect the Prince.

Elena gripped her daughter's face and kissed her out of frustration. "I want you to take Addrick to your room and wait for your father and me to call for you."

"But, mom, I need to explain myself…It was all my fault. Addrick had nothing to do with this." Catharine was panicked now. She didn't want to get Addrick into trouble for something she coaxed him to do.

Addrick placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head for her to stop. It warmed him immensely to known that she was willing to take the fall for him, but he would never allow her to do such a thing.

"Addrick, I think it is best if you join Miss Catharine upstairs. Her parents and your mother and I need to have a talk." Addrick wouldn't dream of disobeying his father. He knew people were intimidated by his father, and that he struck fear into the hearts of most people. But since Addrick was a small child, he couldn't help but admire and look up to his father as a hero. He had already learned so much from him through everyday lessons and even through punishments like this.

"Alright, dad." _Come on, Cat lets get upstairs before our parents embarrass us more. _She turned to face him and he draped an arm around her shoulder to comfort her as they headed for the stairs. Both Addrick and Catharine could feel their parent's eyes staring at them as they ascended up to the upstairs corridors.

When the two were out of sight both Nicolae and Gregori turned to their lifemates and shared the same expression. Savannah was the first to speak. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should separate them to find out if what we suspect is in fact true. It might just give us the time we need to hunt out the old mage caves, because it seems we have an underground colony of vampires in our own back yard." Gregori spoke to everyone, looking for any kind of input, but found none. Elena wiped a stray tear away from her face and shook her head.

"I don't like the idea of separating them. It would break Catharine's heart to lose him…but I think you may be right Gregori. They are becoming too attached to one another and the separation will only confirm if what we suspect is actually true or not." She started to weep softly. "How do we tell them?"

Gregori was silent for a moment. He walked over to the window and stared out into the darkness. "We don't tell them anything. I will send Addrick to an area outside of Rome, and then explain to him the importance of solitude during his time there while he is on assignment." He walked back over to his lifemate and placed his hand at the nape of her neck to massage the tension away.

"Then after the threat is gone from our lands here, you should think about sending Catharine someplace in Rome. If I am not mistaken, I think I remember her talking about her dream to go to a college." He looked to Nicolae to confirm.

Nicolae glanced at his lifemate. "He is right. If it is meant to be then they will find each other again…and then we will know for sure. Right now their relationship isn't healthy. Catharine is of age now and already our males are anxious to meet her. If she is a match to any of them we will have a big problem separating those two." Everyone in the room looked up at the stairs and just wished for more time. But their time was up and their children were indeed grown.

Savannah grabbed Gregori's hand and headed towards the stairs. "Now all we have to do is break the news to them."

* * *

**(Author's note.) **

**Wow! i am so glad everyone is likeing it so far! Thanks for all of your reviews. While typing up this chapter i thought up some yummy and very interesting plots. Unfortunatley i can't reveal them till later, but i left some great clues!**

**Hope you all enjoy!**

**Faithfully Submitted,**

**Ashley**


	5. Never Forget Your First Kiss

**Chapter 5**

Addrick paced beside Catharine as they walked the long corridors to the tower staircase, on the east side of the estate. He sensed her distress and he searched her mind to try and comfort her. She had thought it was all her fault that they had gotten into trouble. Chuckling to himself, Addrick took his arm that was draped around her shoulders and turned her into his embrace. They stopped abruptly in the long hallway, and Addrick tried to sooth and coo her into a more relaxed state.

She needed a hug and she clutched him tightly. "I am so sorry, Addrick. I never meant to harm or scare you. I wish I could remember what happened in the cave, because you looked so scared when I came too." She was clutching the back of his shirt when she felt him shake slightly. Looking up, he had a smirk on his face and he was trying so hard not to explode in a fit of laughter.

"I ought to smack you one you know?! Here I am trying to apologize for getting us in trouble and you are laughing at me!" He stopped after a breath of a pause and grasped her chin firmly in his hand.

"I told you once, long ago, that I didn't ever want to hear you apologize to me. You have never done anything to me that requires an apology." He looked so serious. His eyes were a swirling silver and he almost looked sad. "Never."

She was suddenly very aware of how close their bodies were, and how her heart was racing at the thought of his touch. His face inched his way closer and she clutched his forearm for some kind of support only to see him wince in pain. Cat glanced down and removed her hand to reveal the sticky sweetness of his blood.

"Oh, my God! What happened?" she was rushing him into her room when she stopped short. Turning slowly she held her body ramrod stiff and asked the one question she was afraid she knew the answer too.

"Please don't tell me I did this to you…oh God, Addrick please don't tell me that I did this." Addrick couldn't lie to her. Nor did he want to hurt her with the truth so he stayed silent. She sucked in her bottom lip to stop her new flood of tears that threatened to surface, and she put her tough mask on. Shaking her head in acknowledgement, she bowed away from his gaze and led him to her bed in the center of the room.

Addrick set himself quietly on her king size bed and draped his good arm around one of the canopy's cedar bed posts. He watched as Catharine moved around inside the bathroom. She had prepared a number of soft cloths and a bedside basin full of scolding hot water. Deep down he knew he could fix himself up like new, but a part of him craved for her touch and a need like never before crept into his soul. He needed her, wanted her, desired her, but he had to hide these new feelings from her because he was ashamed of his weakness. They were best friends and practically siblings, with how close their parent's friendship was.

A memory of his childhood with her flashed into his mind:

_They were probably no more than 16 years old, and Addrick was reading one of his many books on medical arts. He was such a book worm that it took Catharine all her energy to yank him away to have some "real fun". _

_She had snuck out of her house early from her violin lesson when she spotted him through his bedroom window. Tapping on the glass lightly, he turned his head and smiled. He didn't expect her to come by but he was always happy to see her._

"_What are you doing here, Cat? Don't you have violin lessons on Saturdays?" He spoke to her as he unlatched the window and slid it open for her to climb through. She brushed off the dust from her pants and plopped herself on one of his many overstuffed armchairs. _

"_I was practicing my so called 'beautiful instrument' when I found it absolutely necessary to end that horrible screeching sound, and find you to go for a swim or something." She rolled her eyes when he looked at her and then his precious books and then back at her again. "Oh come on, Addrick. What is so interesting in those old dusty tombs that can't wait till later…Besides…they aren't even up to date volumes. The one your reading now is from the late 1800's. What those people did in those days would be considered torture today."_

"_This information was some of the first real documented surgeries ever recorded. I can't help it, Cat. Healing is in me, but you're right. Maybe I should have a little more fun. Dad is always saying that these are the best years of my life and not to waste them." She smiled real sly and jumped out of the chair and headed for his bedroom window._

_She threw her hair over her shoulder and jumped out gracefully. Landing on two feet, she turned and looked back up to his window. "Well…are you coming?"_

_Addrick smiled and followed suit. This was the beginning of his adventurous relationship with Cat. From that day on they were constantly playing hooky and sneaking around whenever possible. Oh Addrick still read and studied like a nerd, but he never denied himself the pleasure of her wondrous company again. _

Even then, he could deny her nothing. The feelings he felt for her seemed to get stronger by the minute. No, he needed to suffer in silence and try to force these new feelings not to take the best of him. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

She rushed out of her bathroom door and placed the basin of water on the floor close to his feet. Sitting on both her legs, she dipped a soft white rag in the water and drew it out by her finger tips to avoid being burned. Addrick looked at her and then the rag and then back at her again. "What on earth are you doing? Cause I know you're not about to put that thing on my arm."

He held his arm out of her reach and started to try to heal it himself. Cat was already flustered with the thought of her being the one that hurt him, and now he was refusing her treatment. She couldn't take much more of this so she leaned into his body and placed her right hand over top of his chest.

Addrick paused for a brief moment before she took a hold of his nipple and twisted it hard. He yelped out in pain, grabbing his violated chest, and abandoning his arm to Cat. "Have you gone mad?!"

"No, I haven't. You were being childish withholding yourself from my ways of healing…so I was childish back. I thought it was a simple solution." He thought about it a moment and rubbed his chest again.

"And besides your arm is all cleaned up now, and you didn't even know the hot water was on your skin." He looked down dumbfounded. She had cleaned all of the mud and blood from his skin while he was whining about the pain in his chest. Completely distracted by her sudden sassiness, he found himself speechless.

Catharine dried his wet skin with another cloth and she leaned forward to the offensive wound and began healing him. She was so ashamed of herself for being so out of control and not remembering what had happened back in the cave that she could just die. She wanted to cry and run, but she held tall and strong in front of Addrick and she always will. Never will she show her weakness in front of him again. Ever.

Her mouth was gentle against his skin. She took her time and felt a newness in the act of healing. Her heart was beating wildly against her chest, and she suddenly felt the urge to swirl her tongue around in lazy little circles.

She knew she was done healing him, but she couldn't drag herself away from him. Just once she wanted to know what it felt like to be with someone. Just once she wanted to know what a real kiss felt like. She just never thought she would want to know with Addrick.

She pulled back by her startling thoughts, and wiped at her mouth with the back of her trembling hand. If he knew she felt like this then he would laugh at her and call her silly…or worse…dumb.

She was just lonely and using her best friend in some twisted girly fantasy was not going to ever happen. That's when she looked up into his eyes and saw the hurt for the first time. He was just simply looking at her. Nothing more. Just a simple stare, but his eyes burned in a hurt she had never seen before. He pulled her up onto her bed and laid her down beside him.

"Addrick, what are you doing?" She almost gasped out the words as she felt his body move closer to her own. He pushed his knee in between her legs and supported both of his hands on either side of her body. With her body pinned beneath his, he leaned forward slowly and whispered against her mouth.

"Something you thought was never going to happen..." She held her breath and waited a moment before he grazed his lips against the corner of her mouth. He made her head spin with just that slight brush of a caress, and sighed when he brought his hand to the side of her face.

He took her open mouth as an invitation and moved in. She was warm and tasted sweet and exotic. Never did he feel he would ever do this and then he read her thoughts. She was thinking about wanting to kiss him while she was healing him, and then just as quickly told herself that it was nothing more than a stupid girlish fantasy. He was crushed, but he wouldn't let that stop him now. He needed her, and he wanted her to know it. Maybe just one taste will sate him and his lustful feelings.

His tongue grazed the inside of her mouth in a slow, lazy, intimate way. She was so shocked by his actions that she almost didn't know what to do. Her mind was in a fog and her body seemed to be on fire. She almost whimpered in surrender when he sucked on her bottom lip before pulling away from her.

Resting his forehead against hers, he squeezed his eyes shut and wished for her to feel the same affection for him that he knew she would never possess. He realized he was wrong and that one taste of her innocent mouth was working into the beginning of a very strong addiction. He was going to distance himself from her when she rolled him over and placed her head against his chest.

Catharine willed the remote, on her bedside table, to come to her, and she flipped the television in her room on. Her favorite Court TV show was on and it seemed to fill the awkward silence in her room.

Addrick sat in silence watching her TV. Stroking her back protectively, he listened to her show until he felt her fall asleep. He watched her sleep peacefully for a few minutes and started to fantasize about a life where he got to feel her sleep beside him every night. A stray hair fell over her eyes and he brushed it away and placed one more kiss on the corner of her mouth.

He had to leave her now before he woke her up to finish what he started. Stepping through her doorway, he paused and took one last look behind him. "I love you, Cat…and I always will." The door closed behind him and he made his decent down the tower stairs. His father was waiting at the bottom for him.

Addrick froze when the cool voice of his father greeted him. "Son. Come with me, we need to talk."

* * *

**(Author's Note)**

**As i have said before...I do not own Christine Feehan or her famous characters...nor do i make any money of the dark series. Ok now with that out of the way, i would like to say thank you to all of the reviews you have given me thus far. It means so much that you would take time out of your busy days to comment on my story.**

**If you have followed my "Fan Fic Career" :-) you would know this is only my second story. Again...please let me know what you think and if you like where the story is going. So many surprises...and so much more to post.**

**Thanks again!! and enjoy,**

**Ashley**


	6. Goodbye My Love

**Chapter 6**

_Cat was sitting by the lake when Addrick saw her. She was whipping away her hidden tears with one pair of dirty hands. She seemed so upset that she never even noticed when Addrick stepped up behind her to place a hand on her shoulder. Startled by her new company, she sucked in the last of her humiliation and quickly rubbed her hands on her jean clad legs._

_Turning to look up into his face, she smiled. "I didn't hear you come up."_

"_No you didn't Cat. Why were you crying?" Addrick couldn't help himself from asking. They were as close as could be, and he knew this girl inside out. Never before had he seen her like this, and frankly it worried him._

"_I don't want to talk about it now. Can't you just walk me home and forget about it?" She started to get up when Addrick grasped her forearm and pulled her up the rest of the way. They started heading towards her house when she tripped over an upturned root and fell flat on her face. _

_Addrick look down at her in shock and grabbed her up immediately. He tried to stand her back up when she started fighting him and punching him. She never did any real harm to him but it hurt him that she would even try when they were best friends. Looking closer, he noticed that she wasn't fighting him, but her anger and frustration._

"_Why do you have to be so understanding?! Why?!" She was crying and yelling so hard that he couldn't understand a blasted word she was saying. _

"_What on earth are you talking about Cat?! Stop thrashing around and talk to me!" He overpowered her body by gripping her shoulders and putting her in her place. (He didn't like to show or use his power against people unless it was absolutely necessary. And in this case, it was absolutely necessary.) She sobbed into his arm and started to scream again._

"_I know the future Addrick! I see what happens to us in the future! And you are going to up and leave me!" He loosened up on her shoulders a bit and let her finish. "I had a dream that you and I got into some trouble…I don't know what we did, but it was bad. And then you left me Addrick." Her voice became soft and she whimpered as she bowed her head away from his gaze. "You left me Addrick." _

_He didn't know what to say. Her words pierced his heart like a hot iron. How could he ever leave her behind and not take her with him. They were always attached to the hip….since they were old enough to walk. He didn't know what else to do or say so he grabbed his sobbing friend into the shelter of his hug._

"_Shh Cat. Don't worry about a thing. I would never leave you. Ever. You are like my sister, and first and foremost my best friend." She chocked on a sob and shook her head in agreement._

"_Now if you don't mind…" he lifted her chin up with his finger and smiled. "All of your crying is making my shirt all wet and sloppy. What will your father think when I take you home?" She started to laugh at him as her tears melted away. And in his best Nicolae voice he imitated wildly with animated arms. "I will tell you what he will say. He will say, Addrick why have you brought my daughter home a complete mess? Were you unable to protect her? Why is all that dirt on her clothing? Don't you know that a Carpathian male is never to keep the females out of their site for even one moment?" _

_He kept up the Nicolae act because of the smile Catharine supplied to him in return. In that moment he saw all of her sadness melt away and in its void entered the Cat he knew and cared for._

Addrick was lost in the memory when the voice of his father interrupted his thoughts. "Son I need to know that you understand what is being said to you right now."

Anger filled his heart but he understood why his father was declaring this act all of a sudden. His sudden attraction to Cat was easily readable to not only their parents but to all males within a 50 mile radius. No words of love needed to be spoken because any Carpathian can see the body language of a man with an obsession. As long as he stayed in the area, Addrick's life was in danger.

"Father I know she is mine…and I think she knows too. I can not leave her. Not now." Gregori cursed his emotions some times. His son was pulling at his heart strings and he had no choice but to demand he obey.

"Son let me tell you the story of how your mother and I came to be..." Gregori began.

"I know this story dad. Mom has told it to me a dozen and a half times already. You saved her as an infant and then pretended to be her pet wolf. Then you swept her off her feet and then happily ever after." Addrick was frustrated now and he no longer wished to hear the words his father spoke of. Even if it meant disrespecting him.

Gregori held his breath and counted to 5. He could feel his son's anger and frustration, and he most certainly knew all of the emotions he was now facing. So he forced himself to find sympathy on his son and forgive his disrespectful attitude. "One more outburst like that son and you will have more problems than this."

Addrick looked to his father with regret in his eyes and spoke a little more gently. "Forgive me father. Please finish what you were going to say."

"Most of what your mother told you was true, but what she didn't tell you was that I waited 5 years, from the moment I kissed her at her party, to claim her. I had thought I had manipulated our joining before her birth, and therefore thought it best to give her the freedom she deserved before I took it away from her. I needed to make sure she was truly mine before I took another man's lifemate away."

Addrick stared at his father in disbelief. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me that part of the story?"

"It was not your place to know…up until now of course. Please know that your going away will give you time to lose you emotions and feelings and colors. You are still young my son, and this time in solitude will prove that she is your true mate or not."

"Father please tell me there is another way to find out. Please." Addrick's voice cracked as he felt tears threatening to surface. He had never cried in his whole life, and now he was getting ready to blubber like a child who skinned his knee on a stone step. "Father please I have never asked anything of you before, but please don't make me go. I know she is mine and I can't bear the thought of leaving her without saying goodbye."

Gregori sat in silence and kept his thoughts focused on his task. He couldn't look at his only son and he feared that he would never gain the respect or love from him ever again after this moment. He hung his head low as he stood. Walking slowly to the door of Nicolae's study, he stopped in its frame and asked his son a question. "Will you do it for your prince?"

Addrick thought about it for a moment and walked to where his father was standing. Gregori's back was still facing him when he answered. "No. But I will do it for you father." A breath escaped his lungs. "Can I just have a few moments alone before we head out tonight?"

Gregori turned and took his son into a hug. "I will be downstairs in the atrium when you are ready." He patted him on the back and closed the door quietly behind him.

The room suddenly felt very small to Addrick as he walked slowly back to his seat in silence. Sinking into the soft buttery leather chair he placed both his hands to his face and bowed his head gracefully to cry. The first time he ever cried was the hardest time he had ever experienced. He was now haunted by the memory of Cat's prediction, as a child, and he was loathing himself for not heading her warnings.

Cat's mother was a very strong psychic, so it was no big surprise when Cat inherited her mother's gift. She had known even back all those long years ago by the lake. He had to let her know somehow that he wasn't abandoning her. But how?

He reached into his pockets, out of habit, and began to pace the floors of the study. His hand grazed something rough in his pocket and pulled it out to examine it. He couldn't believe what he saw. Catharine's precious stone lay in the palm of his hand and suddenly he knew how to communicate to her.

He made quick work of breaking the stone into two equal pieces, before smoothing the stones surfaces and attaching it to two equal leather like chains. Each necklace held one half of the unique stone. Even the precious ruby center, of the sapphire, remained in contact with both necklaces.

Tying one of the necklaces around his neck, he paced back up to the tower to place the other around hers. At least they will still have a piece of each other when they are separated. He practically ran back up the tower stairs when he thought of this being the last time he ever got to see or be near her.

Creaking open her bedroom door, he stood there and watched her breath deeply in and out. She rested in the way of humans and he could see that she was dreaming. Her eyes fluttered ever so slightly and a smile was splayed on her face. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Each step he took to her side was painful. When all he wanted to do was wake her and tell her everything, he knew he couldn't. Addrick knew that she could never know about where he was or what he had to do. She had to stay innocent, as she was, and untouched from persuasion.

_God Cat. How can I leave knowing what I know now? _A tear fell away from his saddened face, and he buried his face into the mattress beside her body. His fingers wanted to touch her and his mind craved to bury itself deep inside hers. Unfamiliar words came to him and a strange beast like anger threatened to surface, demanding that he say these words aloud.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on his task. He slipped his hand behind her neck and lifted her ever so slightly to tie the leather strap around her neck. The stone fell gracefully between the valley of her breasts and his mouth began to water. She stirred only a little and he heard her speak a little by a muffled tone. "I love you."

He stood up slowly and walked backwards towards the door. His heart ached to touch her and be with her, and he had to leave now before he changed his mind and did something rash like kidnapping her or something. So on a quick heel he turned towards the tower stair case and headed down to the atrium.

When he approached, the main stair case, his entire demeanor changed. Each step he took towards the other Carpathians radiated a power that he had never known. He was numb and unfeeling. As far as he knew his life was officially over with. All he had now was his duty to his father.

Gregori approached his son with ease and searched his cold and unyeilding eyes. He nodded in acceptance and led his son out the door to the front lawn. "Father leave me be for now. I will wait for you and mom to come home. I will have my things packed before you arrive." And with that he shimmered into mist and headed towards the direction of his home.

Elena, Nicolae, and Savannah stepped outside shortly after and looked to Gregori for some kind of answer. "Elena and I will accompany Addrick to Rome ad get him settled there. He needs to be taught the ways of battle before he can be set loose on his own."

"We will be leaving tomorrow evening early." Gregori turned and faced Nicolae and Elena as Savannah came to stand by his side. "I will give you word on up to date happenings. Don't tell Catharine anything other than he has been assigned to a location you do not know of."

"I understand Gregori." They grabbed each other's forearms like warriors of old. "Safe journey and know that our thoughts will be with you both and your son."

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Catharine awoke to the hand of her mother on her shoulder. _Come on honey…time to get up. It is almost dawn. _Out of habit, Cat had to be waken up by one of her parents to go to her underground chamber.

As she followed her mother down the winding corridors, Cat's groggy stature made her yawn and scratch her neck line. She fumbled at a small piece of leather and looked down to see half of her stone was attached to it. She lifted it up slowly and examined it.

Elena turned slowly to see that her daughter wasn't following. "Honey what's wrong?"

"Nothing mom. Have you seen Addrick?" Her eyes never left the sight of the stone as she spoke. She didn't remember him leaving her, but something was very wrong…almost off in a sense. She looked up to see her mother shake her head as if she didn't know.

"I saw him leave with his parents earlier this evening." She walked up to Catharine and tugged on her hand to follow her. "And besides, you seem too tired to be worrying about this right now." Cat followed her mother and stayed silent the rest of the way to her chamber. She kissed her mother goodnight and secured the latch on her chamber door.

Gripping the stone in her hand, she sent out a silent call to Addrick, but she received no answer. She chalked it up to Addrick probably already being asleep so she just ignored it and her worrying mind and settled down to sleep the deep sleep of her kind. _Addrick if you can hear me, I will see you tomorrow. And I am sorry about everything that happened. Good night._

The last of her heartbeats ceased when Addrick answered. _Good night love. Please forgive me._

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**(Author's Note)**

**Thank you so much for all of your kind reviews. It gives me great pleasure to know that people are enjoying my work. As i have said in my profile page, I like to make some aspect of my real life reflect in my stories.**

**In the next two chapters my personal life will start to peak through...so please be kind and try not to make fun ;-). Now it's time to thank a few of you for your kind words.**

**The Real Elvira: I agree 100 I love Feehan too! Thanks for showing your interest. it means a great deal.**

**Kat06: I promise the suprises are already on the way. In fact this chapter showed the beginning of a very important suprise that will aid all Carpathians in the future...did you figure it out yet? hehehe thanks for the review.**

**Annie: Thank you so much for you reviews... I can't express enough how much it means to me. (It also kicks me in the butt when i slack off a bit with my postings.)**

**J.W.Rosethorn, Elenemire, & Animecrow13: What can i say. You 3 have been my true inspiration throughout my writings. You have all been with me from the beginning and have even given me the names i so desperatly needed to make this story what it is! Thank you so much! (Oh and i saw that show Angie and i can't beleive it! I too about fell over laughing! thanks for the tip).**

**Amy: Your reviews are what keeps me going! Thank you again.**

**Julie: I am so glad you like the story. I can honestly say that i was worried that no one would like this one. I had a very nasty review on my last story and it almost made me not publish this one...good thing i didn't listen:-) thanksagain.**

**Ouiplanete: It pleases me to see that you are enjoying my fic so much...and i took a look at you extensive story favs and i do recommend everyone to go see...cause you have great taste...thanks for adding me along to that great list**

**Ally N.S.: Wow. Thank you for the kind review. Your was the first Feehan fanfic i have ever read... and i can honestly say i've been hooked on this site because of your story. Thanks.**

**Tina: Last but not least, Thank you. It means more than you know to see so many people take time out of their busy days to review.**

**Ok everyone. Thats it for today. Hope you all don't hate me too bad for this chapter. It gets really good from here on though. I get weird and upset when a story or situation isn't resolved too...even when it is my story! But i promise to post soon!**

**Thanks again,**

**Ashley**


	7. A Vision From The Past

**(Author's Note)**

**Your reviews bring a tear to my dry eye! I love you all, and i hope you all enjoy from here on out. Please don't get mad at me with this chapter. It has to get worse before it can ever get better. But chin up! Addrick comes back in the next chapter and i do a little light year jumping! Fun stuff to come and of course lots of fluffy goodness!**

**Be kind to this chapter...this really happened to me!**

**Thanks again,**

**Ashley **

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**Chapter 7**

A rush of air filled the lungs of a young woman deep within the earth. Her heart skipped a beat and her mind immediately sought out her only solace. Her only friend was a blank void in her mind now. Where once she could search him out for comfort, now remained a deep empty wasteland of pain that was all her own. Catharine choked on a sob as she tried harder to communicate with Addrick, but it was no use. He wouldn't answer. It was almost as if he was too far away.

Rolling out of her soil bed she gently and carefully chose her outfit for the day. A sage colored sweater covered a white tank top that revealed a low neckline. It showed the new sapphire amulet, Addrick had made for her, off nicely and added a warm glow to her dark eyes. Dark denim jeans hugged her legs and gave her a sophisticated yet sexy appeal. One look at herself in the mirror made her freeze. She clutched the amulet in her fist and felt a new wave of tears surface. Turning slowly she headed towards the chamber door to greet her evening with a tough face.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Elena and Nicolae were already in the kitchen waiting for Catharine to show up. "Remember what we talked about, love. No matter what, we don't tell her where Addrick has gone too, and we don't let on that we know anything about him leaving until the last possible minute."

"I hate lying to her, Nicolae. I have never lied to her before…she deserves to hear the truth." They were both silent a minute before Elena spoke up again. "What if what we did was the wrong move? If they are meant to be life mates then what good will the separation do them?"

Nicolae clutched his life mate's hand in his own and drew her fingers up to the warmth of his mouth. "This is but a small test compared to an eternity of not knowing." He saw the worry in her eyes. "It is for the best. Give Addrick time to lose his sense of color and emotions. He is close to losing his emotions anyways. So when and if they reunite, then the test will tell." Nicolae dragged his woman into the shelter of his arms and laughed. "And besides, Addrick has Gregori to teach him everything he needs to know to survive on his own."

The door to the back of the kitchen creaked open and a very tall woman peaked through the opening backwards, trying to avoid making a sound. "Why do you insist on sneaking around?" Nicolae's voice announced.

Catharine swung around sharply drawing in a quick breathe of air. Her back slammed back against the now close door and she stared wide eyed at both of her parents sitting at the kitchen island.

"Geese dad! When are you going to quit scaring me like that?!" Elena clutched her chest and tried to regulate her heart rate back to normal as she watched both her parents laugh and imitate her.

A wave of giggles erupted from Cat's mouth and she jumped up on the island to hug her father and mother. Elena gave her daughter a bear hug and slowly started to rock her back and forth. Leaning in close she began to speak. "When did you get to be so big?"

Cat closed her eyes and enjoyed her mother's embrace. It wasn't often that Cat shared moments like this with her mother. Most of the time she was like a best friend than a mother, and it was refreshing to know that once in a while her mother thought of her as not a best friend, but as her child. "I don't know mom…maybe it was while you were sleeping."

More giggles came and softened as Nicolae pulled up a chair and patted the seat for Cat to join him. "Cat, honey, come and have a seat. We need to talk to you about something."

"I already know what you are going to say dad. I know I shouldn't have been anywhere near those caves, but I wanted to show Addrick. It was just so beautiful." As she sat, she noticed that something was off…they knew something that she did not, and when neither of them spoke her suspicions were confirmed.

"What's going on? Did I do something else?" Her mother turned away from her gaze and squeezed her father's hand for some kind of support.

"It's not that Cat. We both know that you didn't mean to put yourself in danger. All in all you and Addrick should've been dead. Those vampires didn't even notice you, but that is an issue the prince, Gregori, and I are investigating. Right now we have more important things to discuss."

Cat pushed her hands in between her knees and scrunched her shoulders up to her ears. She figured that she had to have done something truly horrible for her own father to just shrug off her being confronted by a vampire. "You are to have a party of sorts."

Now she was really confused. Cocking her head to one side, her stature began to relax. "Why would I need or want a party? It isn't my birthday. And besides, Addrick and I always have our party together." Nicolae shook his head no and stopped her from rambling any further.

"No sweetheart. Do you remember what we told you a while ago? About how when a Carpathian woman is of age, she is to be presented at the prince's home and in front of the entire court?" Nicolae watched as his daughter slowly registered the information.

"But dad…isn't that party mainly for the males of our race? To see if they are life ma…" She stopped mid sentence and choked on her words. "Life mates…oh god dad no. Please tell me you're not going to make me do this." Standing slowly she pushed the chair in front of her and started to walk backwards to the door of her chamber. "You can't force me to do this dad. I don't want to be just some breeding right to one of those scary males." She started to stutter. "And…and...And those parties are thrown when a gi...girl turns 18. I'm way pa...pa…past the age daddy. Please do make me do this."

"I'm sorry sweetheart. Your presence has been requested by the prince himself. It will be just to see if you become compatible with any of the males…Please trust me when I say that if none are to be found then you will not be forced to one against your will."

Cat found the door handle and squeezed it tight and opened it gently. "No! You can't make me do this!" And before you knew it she was latching the door behind her and seeking the comfort of her warm four poster bed and feather pillows.

Nicolae started to undo the door when Elena grabbed his forearm halting him from his task. "Let me talk to her. I think she needs her mother right now."

"But I need to…"

"Trust me. I was once her age. I remember what it was like to be a young girl with mixed up emotions." Nicolae shut his mouth and stood aside for his life mate to enter the chamber. He started to follow suit when she stopped and placed a hand on his chest to halt him. "Alone dear. Alone."

Nicolae grumbled for a few minutes and then bowed out gracefully. Elena traveled down the short flight of stairs and knocked on the chamber door. Softly she opened it and entered to find her daughter face down in a mountain of pillows and her arms draped over the edge of the bed.

Elena sat quietly on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her daughter's back. She started to rub small circles, and cooed a lullaby to help calm her.

♫ _Hush now my baby,_

_Your tears make me weep._

_Be still and relax my little love._

_Hush now and know that you'll always be loved._

_Find solace in the sound of my voice.♫ _

Catharine stopped her sobbing and wiped her face on the sleeve of her shirt. Knowing that her appearance was horrendous, she pressed her face back down into her now salty wet pillows. "Mama…I don't want to do this. Please don't make me do this."

Elena's heart was breaking. When she discovered she was pregnant, with Cat, never once had she thought that it would be this heart breaking to deny her something. "Sweetie, let me ask you something." Elena placed her arm above her head, as a pillow, and laid down beside her daughter

"Do you know what happens when life mates find each other?" Elena turned her head and looked at her daughter after asking her question. Catharine slowly turned her head to meet her mother's gaze and just as quickly began looking around the room for an answer.

"No. I guess not. But what does it matter? I don't want to be with anyone of those creepy men. I will no sooner die than subject myself to their lustful desires." Elena looked at her and held back a smirk.

"That's just it honey. When you find your true life mate it is like fireworks are exploding in your heart. Your mind becomes so consumed with him and all you can think about is wanting to make him happy and end his suffering." Elena began to smile.

"The cool thing about this is that you will not get these feelings with anyone but your life mate. And honesty, my little mia, your heart doesn't have a choice in the matter. It's your soul that seeks its mate. You will not be forced to be with anyone…even your life mate! But your mind, body, and soul will make you." Catharine laughed at her mother's flamboyant way of telling her things. It always seemed to brighten her darkest of moods.

"And pardon the Star Wars parody but "It is your destiny." Both women erupted from laughter as Elena did her best Darth Vader impression, and before you knew it they were having an all out laser battle on top of her bed.

Nicolae busted into the room and demanded what was going on. Feathers erupted all over the place when a stray pillow flew across the room and smacked Nicolae square in the nose. Cat couldn't help but laugh as she saw her father covered from head to toe in the white fluffs of feathers.

Arms folded firmly across his chest, his opened his mouth and blew out the feathers that crept into his cheeks. The women laughed even harder, but instantly sobered when they saw he wasn't amused. Standing on the bed, Elena tried to explain but was hushed by her mate.

A deep rumble formed in the back of his throat as he began to speak. "Now. It has come to my attention that I should come down here to comfort daughter, when I saw that not only my daughter…" He swung his gaze to his life mate. "…But my life mate has decided to have a pillow party."

Both women now felt deeply guilty and hung their heads low. "What bothers me more is that neither of my women have inherited the knowledge or the skill to be a great pillow fighter." Cat and Elena snapped their heads up together but were too late. Nicolae had snagged up two enormous pillows and roared as he tackled them both. More laughter erupted as the war began.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

After a couple of hours of horse playing, Cat cleaned up and started to head for the door. "Where do you think you are going?" Nicolae asked in an awkward tone.

"Well since I am going to this party I wanted to go and invite Addrick to come along. You know just in case I get board or need a friend to talk too." Cat started to smile and she headed out the door. Elena and Nicolae looked to each other and started after her.

They remained a shadow behind her at all times. (Cloaking their presence so she wouldn't know they were following.) Elena's heart sank as they approached the stone estate that belonged to Gregori and Savannah.

Climbing up to the third story window, Cat tapped on the window of Addrick's room. It was dark inside so she figured that he must be downstairs somewhere. So she jumped down and rounded the corner and headed for the front door. Rapping several times, she received no answer.

Nose and face pressed firmly to the window, she looked inside to see if she could find any trace of the family she had grown so close too. Nothing or nobody could be found. The house that was once warm and inviting had now turned cold and vacant. She clutched the stone that lay heavily between her breasts and knew what had happened.

Long ago she had a vision of this. Addrick up and left her with no explanation. In her vision she felt empty and with the thought of Addrick abandoning her she felt betrayed. She was no longer that small child that cowered in fear of all the "what if's". She was a grown woman now.

Addrick promised her he wouldn't abandon her, but he did. He didn't even have the decency to leave and explanation or to say goodbye. Cat was lost in her thoughts when she felt the presence of her mother and father behind her. "You know what happened don't you?"

Hand in hand they walked closer to Catharine. Nicolae chose his words carefully before he spoke. "Addrick has been reassigned to protect our race against the vampire. We know not where he is for our safety. Gregori and Savannah have gone with him to get him settled."

"Training and solitude will become an everyday routine for him. He is too powerful to be so close to his kind. His emotions are strong, but he will lose them soon and the change can be painful for not only him, but for everyone who loves him." Nicolae stiffened when his daughter turned around with a cold stone stare. Emotions were gone and were replaced with an emptiness he had never seen in her before. She didn't say a word. She simple evaporated into mist and flew off.

"I'd say that went well how about you?" Nicolae turned to Elena and sighed at her sarcasm.

"I hope we did the right thing. Now all we can do is wait and pray."


	8. Reunited

**(Author's Note)**

**Wow! I am so sorry for posting this chapter so late. And a special thanks to all of you that "kicked my butt" back into shape! Your reviews were great and i am so happy to see so many people putting my story under their favorites! It is an honor to make so many of you happy.**

**So this chapter is the big one...THEY MEET EACH OTHER AFTER 113 YEARS!! YEAH! So now i have set the mood for a new character and the new corkscrew. More surprises to come! Keep reviewing!**

**Thanks again,**

**Ashley**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 8**

113 ½ years later

Lightning crackled and sizzled in the night sky above the battle. Energy formed into a ball of the fist of a tall dark man with eyes of cold empty silver. The hunter watched as the two vampires before him scurried in circling motions, searching for the threat they couldn't seem to see.

The ball of heat and energy singed the flesh of the vampires, as it flew across a field, outside a marble quarry in Rome. Ash and smoke from the two withering bodies was enough to sicken the strongest of men, but not this hunter. He simply walked right up to the half dead vampires and completed what needed to be done, by extracting their hearts and sending the lighting to incinerate the bodies.

A light, but firm, breeze came in quick with the wave of the hunter's hand. The charred remains of the once evil creatures were now scattered in thousands of directions. No evidence will ever be found and the world was safe, in his small area of Rome, once again. "It's all too easy." Addrick thought as he paced to the edge of the quarry.

It was always too easy. The vampires never saw him or noticed him. Even the other, much wiser and older, hunters found it odd that Addrick possessed this incredible talent. Since the moment he stepped foot into Rome, he had never had any problems fighting the vampire. It was easy when your enemy can't see what's coming. The killings were becoming an everyday part of his life.

Addrick couldn't remember when he lost his color or emotions, but none of it seemed to matter anymore. He would obey his father in this matter and give Catharine her space. His heart was broken at first and then over the course of time it dulled into nothingness. He didn't want to live his life alone anymore, and the fear of becoming the very thing he fought was enough to make him weak in the knees. Sure Addrick was strong and healthy, but his other half was missing.

This night would be the night that he would end his heartache. His loneliness will be over and he will be able to rest knowing that he will never be able to turn to evil. Addrick's one fear was to become the vampire. If the vampires can't even see him now, as a Carpathian, then what kind of evil creature will he become if he should grow weak and turn to embrace the darkness? He was going to make sure that it would never happen. So tonight is the night.

Standing up slowly he gazed into the darkness ahead of him. The tall grass swayed with the light wind creating a dance that reminded him of the sea. Trees bowed gracefully and seemed to speak and invite him into their shelter like he did as a child. _Yes this is the spot I will spend my last moments in. I will at least be with the beauty I once knew._

Addrick walked his last time and climbed the tree's strong limbs with ease. Positioning himself to face the east, he rested his back against the trunk and let both his legs drape over either side of the branch. Now all he had to do was wait for the dawn's welcoming arms to take him home.

** OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Catharine stood by the bay window in her tiny two bedroom apartment, and gazed into the night with a heavy heart. It had been ages since she had seen her parents and friends back home. After that night Addrick left, she had no reason to stay in the Carpathian Mountains. Her life seemed to end and she just wanted to start fresh.

Countless nights she would cry and sob into her arms. Hoping and praying for the one friend, in her life, to come back seemed pointless. It was apparent that he did not care for her as much as she assumed he did. And that's why she never took anything for granted after that.

In the past fifty or so years, Cat had decided to look for a place to start a new life, go to college, find a job, and live out the rest of her days. Her heart seemed to scream at her to go to Rome. All of the best schools, in art, were there and frankly the architecture there was really something to love.

Nicolae and Elena wanted to help support her throughout her rough time, but Cat denied any and all money that came her way. She discreetly gave away every cent, her parents wired to her, to a church or charity in need. Her latest donation went her local hospital under a false name. She much rather preferred to make a living for herself without any assistance. It just seemed more honest that way.

She worked part time as a music teacher for the young. Violin and voice lessons were done in the evenings opposite her schooling. She made a little money but she was happy. After getting her masters degree, in fine arts and archeology, she decided to write books about her findings and theories. Soon she began to write mystery novels revolving around fascinating topics like religion and murder. Her writings brought in a fair bit of money and she found it convenient to work at her own pace and without pressure by others.

Her life was peaceful and quiet until about 30 years ago when her city was starting to show the signs of vampires. She practiced caution, as always, but one night they came to close. She could have sworn she was done for, but the strangest thing happened. They looked right through her like she wasn't even there. Drawing up her courage, she waved her hand around with caution and they didn't even flinch. Then just like that they were gone.

She knew by listening to her father's stories that vampires were drawn by psychic energy and the scent of a woman with special talents. That's why Carpathian women were so protected. Unfortunately Cat was no exception.

She leaned down and patted the head of her pet wolf she called Shorty. Her father insisted she have him as a guard wherever she went. One look into his rich warm eyes she fell all over herself. She had never had a pet before so she was thrilled to finally have one. Shorty never left her side. Even when she showered he would stand guard outside her bathroom door.

She couldn't put her finger on it but she could swear that he understood her and knew things she didn't. Once she tried to search his mind but only found images only a wolf would think of. Nevertheless; he was her trusty companion and wouldn't trade him for the world.

Pulling her sweat jacket on she looked out the window again. "It's the strangest thing Shorty. I feel like I am about to lose someone close to me." One hand scratching behind his ear, she patted him again and turned to walk to the kitchen to get him his supper.

Shorty looked at her move through the cabinets for the canned dog food and cocked his head to one side. Placing the food into his dog dish, she set it on the ground. Whimpering slightly, Shorty ran to his dish and began to eat. Patting his head one last time, she left him to eat in peace.

There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think of Addrick a little. In fact, since she moved to Rome she had felt a little better about losing him. Almost like she could live day to day without the heavy heart ache she normally felt. She had finally picked up the shattered pieces of her confidence; letting them slip securely into place over her naked emotions like a shield.

Tonight was different though. She felt a strong twinge of pain in her chest when she thought about him like she was starting to lose him all over again. Grabbing her backpack she headed for the door.

"Shorty if you want to come for a ride I suggest you follow me." Gathering her keys she turned to the sound of Shorty scrambling out of the kitchen while sliding on the hard wood floors. Cat giggled a little. Every time she suggested going for a ride, that silly wolf turned into a puppy. He always got so excited and jumpy. Laughing some more she ruffled his fur and bent down to kiss the top of his head.

"Ok you silly overgrown puppy. Lets go." She opened the door and watched as he scurried down the flight of stairs to the lobby.

** OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo**

Addrick waited patiently for the sun. He was only into his first 2 hours of the evening and had more than half the night left. He tried desperately not to think of Cat or how she was fairing. Just the thought of her was enough to make him insane. Knowing your life mate was alive and not claiming her was crazy for a male to go through. After some time without word from his father he figured she was happier without him. This was his last resort.

Looking out to the open field and quarry, he saw the approach of a set of lights. Shaking his head, he snorted and crossed his arms across his chest. "Damn kids."

It figured that his last night in this world would have to be interrupted by some drunk kid swerving around in a speeding car. The car came to a screeching stop and laughter could be heard by a young woman. Closing his eyes Addrick tried to imagine that it was Catharine. Eyes still shut he could hear a dog barking and the young woman talking and playing with it. Laughing to himself he remembered Cat playing and giggling the same way.

His heart stopped for a moment and let it register that he had actually laughed. Opening his eyes slowly an explosion of color swept into his world of darkness. He couldn't believe it. Looking at the woman in the field he thought he saw Cat.

"No it can not be." Addrick about dropped from his perch when he realized it was her. She had let her hair grow a bit more and her face seemed older. She was playing with a wolf like the child he remembered her to be. Jumping to the ground, he started to make his way in her direction at a fast pace.

** OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Catharine felt better now that she was out in the night air. Playing with Shorty was so much fun. She loved to watch how excited he got when they went for rides together to their favorite spot. Her heart ache seemed to cease and she felt happy for the first time in a long time.

She threw Shorty's tennis ball out again and clapped her hands to encourage him to run. That's when she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. It was heading straight for her. Only when it got closer did she realize it was a man, but not any man. This man was Addrick. Now she knew she was losing it.

"Oh…my…god…" Cat said when he got closer. Tears of happiness came to her eyes as she reached for him. He slowed to a walk and took his time watching her as he got closer. He didn't even notice when the wolf turned from getting his ball to attacking him. Cat shrieked and grabbed for the dog but it was too late. Something happened that she never expected.

Addrick was being pinned by the wolf one minute and then the next minute the wolf turned into a man. Horrified that Addrick could be in danger, she acted quick and jumped into the wrestling men and fought to get them separated.

The men broke apart and stood facing each other in a fighting stance. Cat tried to reach Addrick but the other man kept her behind him as if protecting her. "Don't hurt him Shorty! Please let me see him!" The man stood straight and relaxed from his fighting stance. Stepping aside, he let Catharine run into Addrick's arms.

They embraced each other for a brief moment before Cat stilled in his arms. Her tears ceased for a small moment and she looked deep into his eyes.

Catharine stepped away from Addrick. A loud smack broke the silence of the reunion as she cracked him against the face with her right hand. Slowly she gained her composer and tried to find the voice hidden in her heart. So long she had waited for this moment. Nights, she had cried over her best friend leaving her with nothing but unanswered questions and a broken heart. Now she had him where she wanted him, and she was numb.

"I don't know what to say to you Addrick. For years I had no idea if you were alive or dead. And now you literally pop out of nowhere and I find that my only best friend here, in Rome, isn't a wolf at all!" Cat was furious now. Boldly speaking her mind to him opened a floodgate of relief.

Hands pressed firmly to her hips she slowly turned to walk back to her car without her pet and without her friend. She was back to having nothing again. Starting her old car, she put it in gear and started for home. _How could I have been so stupid…_

Addrick started after her but was forced to a halt by the man sent to protect her. "Let her go friend. She needs some space." Addrick watched as the best thing that ever happened to him sped away.


	9. The Truth Revealed

**(Author's Note)**

**Ok everyone! I hope you like where this story is going because it has taken me a long time to figure out where i am going with this story line. Our misterious wolf man will be introduced in the next chapter because i thought Cat and Addrick deserved some long overdue talking. I have a new story brewing in my mind for the wolf man so don't worry.**

**Now to answer a few e-mails i have received. Yes this story actually happened to me in real life. Only mine didn't turn out so nice. I fell head over heels for my best friend and he left for Iraq to fight. I was going to tell him how i felt and then he came home with a wife. I was crushed, but i kept my secret and locked my heart away for my soul mate. But never fret!! i still have my stories.**

**with all that said...enjoy the chapter! Its a longer one ;-). And review if you like!**

**Thanks again,**

**Ashley **

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Catharine was nowhere near tears any longer. Her heart was a rage of fire and frustration. _How could he do this to me after all this time…It would have been better if he would never have come back at all! _A familiar tingling grazed her mind and filled her completely for the first time in a long time. Addrick use to be a shadow in her mind all the time, and now he decided to pick back up where he left off making Cat even more furious.

_Come now Cat. You don't honestly believe that do you? You didn't even let me explain what happened all those years ago. Please come back. _Addrick's voice was calm and soothing. Tingles went down to the base of her spine when she thought of those words whispered intimately in her mind. How she hated her betrayal of feelings. Her emotions always brought her down.

_This is a one person conversation Addrick! Nobody invited you._ She was so angry that she couldn't even think about talking to him yet. So she sped the car into the next bend so carelessly that her back end kissed the guard rail causing a chain reaction of spinning and screeching. Cat yelped in surprise.

Her front end careened off the quarry wall on her right side causing her back end to break through the guard rail on the left. Fear immediately slammed against the wall of her chest. She couldn't think or blink as the sound of grinding metal threatened her on each side of her car. The car teetered for a moment and then started to descend backwards.

The simplest of tasks, like turning into vapor, seemed impossible. She couldn't hold the image of mist. Her mind started to see the front end of her car slip backwards and she froze. Her life flashed before her eyes. Images of her parents crept in and memories of her past haunted her. It seemed hopeless. Maybe it was better this way. At least she wouldn't suffer anymore.

The screech of the metal stopped and she felt the car's front tires release itself from the edge of the steep quarry. The sensation of free falling clouded her mind so she closed her eyes and let the feeling wash over her. She didn't even notice when her driver side door opened. One minute she was falling and then she was flying.

Warm hands wrapped themselves around her slender body, and a hard frame was pressed so close to her that she felt safe before she even knew who it was.

Opening her eyes slowly she saw a familiar face. Addrick looked hurt and cold. His eyes never looked at her. He stayed focused on his task. Too long he has suffered fighting evil beings. Too long he had regretted leaving her side. This time she would listen to him…even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming the whole way.

_You have no idea what I had to go through all these long years. I have done nothing but think of you every waking moment. You will listen to me and what I have to say before you make any more rash decisions like throwing your life away. Do you understand? _

Catharine's face turned about 4 shades of red when she heard the words spoken in her mind. He sounded so much like her father that it was scary. Just when she was going to retaliate she stopped and looked up into his gaze. Addrick's eyes were fixed on her. The coldness went away and the hurt took them over.

She could feel the deep pain rippling through her from him. Could he really be that upset and hurt over her actions? He smiled at her then and rested his head against her forehead. _Of course I was you silly ninny. Now will you sit and talk to me when I get you home? Cause I think we are overdue for a long conversation._

_I guess I don't have a choice do I? _She smirked back

_No._

_Well then let's go home. I live on Caesar Drive suite 122. _Relaxing into his embrace she gave up the fight and let him win…this time.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

After about 20 minutes of flying, Cat and Addrick set foot into her little apartment. He was shocked. Her place was so small and reminded him of his old bedroom. Books plagued the walls and the furniture remained dark and old. He even spotted his old desk at the corner of the living room, littered with his precious documents. This wasn't like her at all. His Cat was earthy and wild not dull and hungry for knowledge.

"After you left me I kind of slipped into a different scene." She picked up an old antique book she found on an excavation in Cairo, Egypt. Filling her lungs she blew the dust particles away from the old pieces of papyrus. "I guess they reminded me of you…and it made the separation easier." Bowing her head she placed the old tomb on his old desk and started to walk towards the kitchen.

Addrick just watched her, letting every moment with her register in his memory. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She had grown into such a beauty these past years. Her hair cascaded in waves around her shoulders, and her jaw had a defined knowledge she had gained from years of studying. God how he missed her.

Bending over she picked up Shorty's dish and began washing out the leftover food. "So I don't suppose you know who my former wolf friend is do you?" Filling the sink with suds she rolled up her sleeves and started to do her dishes.

"His name is Daniel Drumcoft Casidine. He was born about ten years after us. We spoke briefly after you sped away and he told me about how he was sent to you by your father. …He wishes me to tell you how deeply sorry he is for telling this way. He said he would stop by tomorrow to see how you are doing."

Addrick winced when he saw Cat's shoulders stiffen as she tried to hide her tears. She was never really good at it, but he had to hand it to her that she did a fine job at trying. However; now it tore through his very soul to see her weep because of something he had done. Walking up to her, he placed his hands on either side of her shoulders and pulled her back against his front.

She turned into his embrace and let the silent tears fall. Her mind was a hurricane of emotion. In fact it made him dizzy to feel what she was feeling. It had been a while since he took a walk through her mind, and he felt so out of practice.

"Why did you have to leave me? I called you for years hoping that you were ok. All I wanted was to know you were ok. I didn't ask for that accident to happen all those years ago…and I am so sorry for getting you into trouble." She wouldn't look at him. She just spoke in a soft voice that laced his heart with desire. He was growing thicker with wanting her and she didn't even know it. She was still thinking he left her because of the accident.

"Cat I didn't leave you because of the accident." She wiped her tear stained cheek and looked up at him as if waiting for an explanation.

"I left because of the feelings I have for you. My family and your family recognized what was happening between us." Oh now she was really confused. Stepping away she backed up to the counter and hugged herself as if she was cold.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him like he had grown a second head and now she began to worry. He was talking about feelings for her and she started to recognize the desire in his eyes when he looked upon her.

"We are life mates Cat…" Her jaw dropped and her eyes glazed over like she was about to blank out. Instead she slid to the kitchen floor and hugged her knees to her chest in a protective manner. Staring into nothing she started to shake her head no.

"Cat I know you think it is impossible, but hear me out." Kneeling before her he started to speak. "We were the best of friends growing up. Either one of us couldn't go somewhere without the other knowing or coming along. And then towards the end I got scared by the new feelings I was having for you." She was still shaking her head slightly and then snapped out of her trance.

"This can't be right Addrick. I would know if we were life mates. My mother explained everything to me." She paused. "No…this can't be right. We grew up together and became closer than most should get but that doesn't make us life mates." She was trying to talk some sense into him but could see that she was fighting a losing battle. In his eyes he had already made up his mind.

"Your half right. I was sent away to lose my emotions like so many other unfortunate males. Almost 17 years went by until my colors faded…then 3 years after that I lost all sense of emotion. It was painful."

They both grew silent. Reaching down he grabbed onto a worn piece of leather that held a precious stone around his neck. He pulled the stone from underneath his shirt and held it tightly in him fist. Cat's breath caught in her throat as she reached down and drew out hers. Placing his other hand around hers he began to speak.

"This stupid little stone was the only thing that kept me together. As long as I knew you had the other half, I could live day to day. It was the only thing that could keep me close to you." Addrick placed his hands around her face while stroking his thumb back and forth gently above her temples

. "Then when I saw you face tonight I began to laugh. Colors swept in front of me and my fears finally ended…I know we are to be together Cat. Fate brought us together and we were just lucky to have known one another since birth."

Cat got up to her knees and tried in her best way not to kiss him or seduce him. She wanted to shake some sense into him but she didn't know how. Placing her hands on his shoulders she tried to speak but no words would form in her suddenly dry mouth.

Her mind started to betray her by thinking of the last kiss they shared in her old bedroom. Her stomach did a funny little flip and she started to feel a bit queasy. The awkwardness of the moment came and went leaving liquid emotion in its place. She tried to think of the best way to tell him that they could never be when he leaned in slowly and claimed her lips.

The light brush felt like wisps of velvet and promises of long nights in summer. She was feeling so strange and confused. Her mind said stop but her body said "yeah right". She knew she only felt this way because she was lonely and she felt horrible using Addrick this way. She had to stop this now…or in a minute or two.

One kiss turned into two and then the softness left as the passion took over. His body felt hard and strong, leaving her clutching him for a steady support. Somewhere inside her she knew she was enjoying herself, but convincing the stubborn side of her was always a problem. Sighing into his tender caresses, she began to melt.

Addrick felt her yield into his submission and heard her whimper against his touch. It had been so long since he felt her, and the desire for her just grew stronger. The beast that guarded his soul roared for him to claim her and demanded he take what is rightfully his, but he didn't want to take away her freedom and innocence without her wanting him the same way.

He wanted her to want him. He wanted their friendship but he needed so much more. Cravings turned into desires and those same desires drove him mad with an infatuation. Deepening there kiss he tried to show her what he has been feeling for ages. Moving against her lips he brushed his kisses down to her neck and jaw.

Nibbling on the sensitive flesh there, he heard her gasp in pleasure. She grabbed his torso and dragged him to her so she could feel him against her suddenly sensitized body. Addrick smiled to himself and brushed his hand against the fabric of her shirt. Exposing her collarbone to his hungry gaze just made him even harder. Leaning into her soft flesh, he inhaled her womanly scent. She smelled like fields of heather after a thunderstorm. Purely intoxicating. Never before had he noticed how her unique scent drove him crazy.

"I feel your hunger Cat. Take what is freely given to you." The whisper against her skin was a beg and plea that kind of snapped Catharine back to her senses. Looking around her kitchen she realized she had gotten a bit carried away.

The palms of her hands pushed against the wall of his now well defined chest and halted him from his further exploration of her body. "We can't do this Addrick. It seems so wrong. Please let me up." Addrick paused for a moment and tried to calm the raging fire in his blood. His groin was so painfully full that he had to palm himself to gain some relief.

He reluctantly pulled her to her feet and forced his gaze away from her swollen lips and inviting view of her breasts. She seemed even more beautiful staring up into his eyes. He had waited over a hundred years to see her this way.

"You need to feed Cat. You seem to have been neglecting yourself nourishment for a long time now. This is probably why you couldn't change into mist back at the quarry… Why have you been starving yourself?" He was brushing a stray hair away from her face and then stopped when she blushed a little.

"I guess I forgot to stop at the blood bank this week." Addrick froze in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from her. She goes to the blood bank for nourishment instead of feeding in the way or their people.

"Tell me you are joking Cat. Please tell me you feed another way." He had that look on his face that reminded her of the old Addrick.

"You never stop playing protector do you?" She said as she side stepped to walk over to the fridge. Opening up the fridge door she pulled out her last bag of blood and walked over to the counter to pull out a glass from the cupboard.

Addrick couldn't believe his eyes. She was denying herself the need of fresh blood. She poured the last of the contents into a glass and realized it only filled up maybe a third of the way. "There is no way that is enough to sustain you Cat."

She knew he was right but she found it so unpleasant to drink from people she didn't know.

"Well at least it will hold until I get to the bank tomorrow. There is a friend there of your father's that has been supplying me with what I need to survive." She was serious too. Addrick looked at her down the glass of stale blood. She licked her lips and thumped the bottom of the cup to get every bit out.

"Enough of this nonsense. Come here and feed." Addrick dragged Cat close to him and took the glass from her hand and set it on the counter. Stroking her hair away from her face, he leaned in close and whispered dangerously close to the corner of her mouth. "Feed from me Cat. Take what I offer you."

His words were weaving a spell around her heart. Cashmere itself couldn't compare to the soft velvet like rasps that came from his delectable lips. Her head began to spin and before you knew it he extended one long razor like nail and slashed a line across his chest.

The blood that poured from the wound smelled sweet and rich. Her fangs exploded in her mouth and a strange new heat pooled between her legs. With her mouth grazing across his chest, she lapped and tasted the blood of his strong heritage. She was so caught up in the sheer pleasure of feeding that she didn't realize how starved her cells actually were. Addrick was right. The starvation she put her body through was insane and unwise.

Addrick moaned in complete ecstasy. Her mouth was doing things that made his head spin and wonder what her mouth would feel like on other parts of his body. She tensed and closed the wound on his chest.

She had never taken his blood before. It was different. She felt what he felt and saw what his most inner thought protruded. "Stop thinking like that Addrick! And quit playing on my vulnerability…we will never be life mates."

She was scared and confused. Her body was telling her things that her mind was not ready for just yet. She wasn't even sure that she would ever be ready for his sudden hunger for her.

Shaking her head again she turned to her room and shut the door. She needed some time to breath and she just couldn't be in the same room as Addrick at the moment. What was she going to do?


	10. Possession

**(Author's Note)**

**Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry this chapter is late...again, but work has been rough lately. my mind has been on so many other things lately including this story.**

**Thank you soo much for all of your kind reviews! I truly love them all.**

**Enjoy!**

**Ashley **

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Cat closed the door to her bedroom and eased herself on her queen size bed. Her heart was beating about a mile a minute and her thoughts wandered as she licked the remaining blood off her lips. The sweetness, on her tongue, was a constant reminder of the fierce passion she had felt, but she knew it was only his passion she was feeling…or was it?

All she could think about was going back into that kitchen and taste his supple lips once more, to make sure. Even running her fingers along the sharp planes of his body seemed irresistible at that exact moment. She didn't know what changed about him, but he was rawer and more male than she had ever known or remembered. It was how he held her, and how he smelled. God he smelled like the wind itself.

Licking her lips again, she closed her eyes and tried to imaging what his body would feel like moving over top of hers. Her eyes shot open quickly and she sat up panting and breathing heavy. _Oh god what was I thinking…I think this time I have finally lost my mind._

_You are only feeling what your heart demands of you, pet._

Rolling her eyes to herself, she picked up a pillow and hurled it at her closed door. _What part of "this is a private conversation" don't you seem to understand! _The silence followed her statement and the guilt soon took its place. Why did she always have to speak before thinking? It always made her sound like such a bitch.

Picking her leaded body off the bed, she strode over to the door and opened it slowly. "Addrick…I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just…" She stopped in her tracks. Cat's throat was closed off and her body was being lifted off the ground. Her head split into what felt like 200 pieces, and she could feel something foreign and unreal start to take over her body.

Addrick was at her side the moment he heard her gasp. "Catharine! What's wrong! Speak to me!" Addrick no sooner spoke the words when her head rolled to one side. Eyes snapping open, Cat stared at him. Her feet touched the ground and a strange force blew her long hair and clothes like waves carry seaweed on its back.

She looked unearthly. An angel of darkness stood before him and his knees almost buckled at the sight. She looked around the room as if she were searching for something. Floating towards the kitchen, Cat raised her arms to the window and started drawing symbols across the glass. It wasn't a safe guard he had ever seen…but looked more like a spell of some sorts.

Addrick couldn't move, nor could he speak. Walking slowly to her side he placed a hand on her shoulder. Something happened that he couldn't explained and that scared him to death. She turned to him and opened her eyes. A glazed look took the place of her warm spirit and her light was replaced by a darkness he had never known.

"Please…release my Catharine. Let her speak to me." He wasn't sure where she was. He deviled deep into her mind and tried to find her but she was gone. What replaced her was an evil so different from what he had ever seen.

"She is no longer in this body. It is a mere shell that will carry me to what was taken so many years ago." The voice was husky and raw. It sounded like her…but not her at all. Rage filled his heart and mind because she was so close yet so far away.

Closing his eyes, he searched past the barrier in her mind and found a hint of her light calling to him. Small feminine hands wrapped themselves around his throat and lifted him off the ground. She hissed in his ear as she lifted him. "Stay out of my way or you shall meet your end hunter."

Addrick was thrown against the wall of the living room. A dent was left where his body was and his head split and crack from the pain. Sitting up he stared at her as she started rummaging through closets and drawers for something.

_That's it. Catharine?! I want you to answer me right now! I will not stand by and watch you be taken over! _Nothing. He received no answer from her nor could he sense her anywhere in her own body.

Picking himself off of the floor, he paced over to Catharine and apologized for what he was about to do next. Swiftly picking her up by her throat, he slammed her body against the wall and drew himself real close to her ear. "Whoever the hell you are…you better let Catharine speak before I find you and destroy you myself."

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went limp in his arms. Addrick cradled her close to his body and took her to her room. Slowly he set her to the bed and wrapped a blanket around her cold body. "Come on Cat sweetie…talk to me."

She never moved or stirred to his touch until he whispered to her in her mind. _Catharine, love, wake up for me. I want to see your beautiful eyes._

Cat opened her eyes and winced in pain. Her head felt like broken pieces of glass and her throat was swollen and sore. "Addrick? What happened?" He almost crushed her with his embrace. He was so pleased she was ok, that he almost wept from the joy.

"Addrick? Are you ok? What's going on…what happened to me?" She looked around the room and gasped at the mess. All of her documents and books were splayed all around the room. Drawers were turned upside down and all of her life seemed to be violated. "Dear God, Addrick, what happened?"

He just looked at her unable to tell her the truth. He shared the memories of what happened to her with his mind and watched as she realized what she had just done.

_Oh God Addrick. Not again…why is this happening to me? Why? _Tears threatened to build up as she bowed her head away from his wandering eyes. "Who keeps doing this to me?" She looked up to him…searching for answers that she couldn't find.

"Cat…I don't know who keeps doing this to you, but we will find out. In the mean time I need to heal you and set up a barrier of my own to protect your mind from another intrusion." He held her close to him and prepared himself to travel into her body.

Addrick closed his eyes and traveled outside his body. The light and energy he became, entered into her body and began to warm her from the inside out. He searched her mind and found nothing out of place until he made a second sweep. Very carefully he looked into the deepest regions of her subconscious and found a hint of a blank void. Not entirely sure what it was, he decided to build up the strongest barrier he could. It would hopefully hold until he got her home to his father to take a look.

Catharine relaxed under his gently touch. The ancient words were chanted into her mind and a sense of calm spread through her body like a warm breeze in summer. She felt him return to his body and almost immediately his hand found the bruises around her neck. He cursed himself for hurting her. It pained him in the worst possible way.

His hands crept up her shirt and started to unbutton the delegate fabric. She gasped when she realized what he was doing. "Hush now pet. I made these bruises and I will heal them."

He continued to remove her blouse when he felt himself grow thicker at the sight of her. God she was beautiful. Her skin was the color of white peaches, and she smelled of heather and rain. He had never seen her bare breasted before, and he never wanted to forget the look in her eyes at this very moment.

She studied him hard, trying to understand what he saw in her. Why was he so all of a sudden interested in her? They couldn't be life mates, but she had to admit that lately there was something different with her feelings towards him.

Addrick bent his head down low to her rib cage. An ugly bruise met his lips and very slowly he began to heal her. A soft moan escaped her throat that sounded all together too husky and raw. The need in her slammed so hard that she thought she might not be able to breath.

His breath trailed a path of fire up to the bruises on her breasts. He slowly and lazily licked a particularly nasty bruise on her nipple and felt her stiffen in pain beneath him. _I know…I know. I'm Sorry for doing this to you Cat. Can you ever forgive me?_

She didn't know what to say to him. He was driving her so completely crazy with pleasure that she thought she might die.

_Addrick please…just stop talking. _That was his Cat. Always to the point and direct. The more time he spent with her, the more she started to relax and slip back into her old self.

_No more pretending to not understand Cat. You know we are life mates. You have known for a long time. _He flicked his tongue across her nipple raising it to his hungry gaze. _You tried to erase the taste of our first kiss with other men, but failed. _Slowly he made his way up her throat and repeated the healing process. _There will never be another for me Cat…Never. I love you. _

Her heart leapt with every word he said. It brought her to life and made her soar as high as she ever had. He was weaving a spell over her that she couldn't think properly. Pure pleasure rippled through her body and all she could think about was wanting more.

Addrick kissed his way up to her jaw bone and found her warm lips with his own. She was sweet to the touch and the smell of her skin was purely intoxicating, but it would have to wait until tomorrow. She was weak from her ordeal and needed rest before they began on their way back home. Preparations still needed to be made and a riddle still needed to be solved.

"Cat we need to find a place to rest. The sun is already starting to rise." She gave a stiff hearted laugh and tried to sit up. Dizzy from weakness she walked over to the window and slid open a thin hidden compartment at the base by the windows ledge. A thick sheet of metal slid over the window and locked itself into place.

"This whole apartment has a reinforced lead running over every source of entry, floor, and ceiling." She eased herself onto an overstuffed chair and searched through the mess on the floor to find some old sweats to sleep in. Remembering that she had no shirt on, she quickly covered herself from his hungry gaze and blushed.

"If you wouldn't mind…could you please secure the windows and safeguard the entry ways?" He smiled wide at her and turned to do as she asked. He went to every window and door, and safeguarded with the strongest spells he knew. Nothing would get to them this night; he would make sure of it. Walking over to the wall in the living room, he stopped and peeled away a piece of dry wall that had cracked when she threw him up against it. The lead, beneath it, was thick and heavy. _That's my girl Cat. You always were a smart one._

Padding back into the bedroom he found Cat fast asleep in his old chair. She looked tired, like she hadn't slept in ages. Picking up her resting body, he carried her to the bed and placed the blankets around her and himself. He held her close to him and wove the last of his safeguards around their bed. They would sleep this night and he would fight the beast in him another day.

Her scent was dragged into his lungs, and he stilled both their hearts. For the first time in his life, he felt completely whole. Nothing would take her away from him. Not his family, or this strange new enemy, But how do you fight an enemy when you can't see him?


	11. Taking The Bait

* * *

**Chapter 11**

One body stirred beneath the ground, and disturbed the sleep of a strong warrior. Scanning his immediate area, Daniel Casidine discovered a breach in one of his safe guards. _Damn. I was hoping for at least a full days rest._

Rolling his eyes he started his attack on the obviously new vampire. It always seemed that it was Daniel that had to teach the newly turned a lesson in manners. You should never disturb a warriors rest unless you had a death wish, and then in that case he would be much obliged.

His senses told him that a single vampire was attempting to attack him from the surface. A clever trap was prepared for his waking, but unfortunately it was not clever enough. Transforming into a dung beetle, Daniel emerged from the rich soil and slowly climbed his way up a tree. Looking down upon his target he realized the extent of time and effort the vampire had put into the trap.

Nearly invisible lines of wire laid crisscrossed in every direction. A slight pungent smell told him the wires were laced with a toxin of some sort. Most likely a paralyzing formula, he quickly sent a call on the private path to his uncle Nicolae.

_Uncle, forgive me I know it's early, but I think you should see this. _Quickly the images were transferred. Something was off.

_This is too precise to be the work of a solitary vampire. This one is too young to be so advanced._ Nicolae's voice was calm and sturdy. He knew what this meant.

_So this vampire is just bait then? _Daniel asked curiously.

_Bingo. Where is my daughter? Is she with you?_ Silence was his only reply.

_She is with Addrick…They reunited last evening. She was still upset so I felt the best way to help her was to give her and her life mate some space._ A small smile curved Nicolae's lips and at the same time he tasted fear. His daughter was in good hands but it wasn't enough. The danger was too close to her now because Addrick had not claimed her by the ritual words. Every vampire within a 30 mile radius would sense her ever growing strength and power. She has now become a beacon for the very thing they fought so hard to protect her from.

_You have done well Daniel…your father would have been proud. Right now I need for you to alert my daughter and future son in-law of the new danger. Keep her in your sight at all times till I arrive. I will bring Gregori and Dimitri. _Daniel sent his reply and broke the connection. He didn't want to get caught into a trap solo so he silently made his way out of the sight of the vampire, but not before he stumbled upon two other vampires. He was shocked that he had failed to sense them right away.

They were peering through the thick terrain and speaking silently to each other.

"What is the hunter waiting for? He should have arisen by now." The one said as he spit between his discolored fangs. "We should wake him up and take him for ourselves." Now Daniel had to smile to himself at that one. Newbies.

"Silence you fool! We had strict orders. First we bring back the pet and then we can get the female. He needs her alive to find the stone or our attack on the women will fail." Daniel's couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was disturbing enough that these vampires were plotting to take his only cousin, but now there was obviously a master involved plotting an attack on the females.

Counting his blessings the vampires were dense and dumb, Daniel started to discreetly make his way to Catharine's home. New dangers were heading her way and they all needed to evacuate immediately. Sooner or later they will figure out he is no longer underground and then they will head for Catharine. Not on his watch.

**OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Catharine's body shot straight up. Air rushed to her lungs with a burn and her head began feeling fuzzy. A side affect of her visions she could do with out. Grabbing her head with both of her hands she began to scream. A scene played through in her mind like a movie from the Hollywood screen.

2 men in cloaks hovered over something she couldn't see. Their speech was old and sounded more like a chant than a conversation. Figures with ragged clothes came in and started to fill the empty sections of the room. Their eyes were sunken in and their flesh seemed to rot on their very bones.

Nausea took over Cat when she saw what they all were standing over…it was her. Her body lay broken and battered, but she was still alive. Her head started to split again and her vision ended. Like a fog that has been lifted from the ground, her head was clear and free from pain. Addrick was sitting beside her holding her hand.

"You saw it through me didn't you?" She was scared. Addrick could hear it in her voice.

"Yes I did." His voice was soft and smooth. He wanted to hold her and tell her that it was never going to happen now that she was with him, but something grabbed a hold of his senses. He stared at the closed bedroom door and felt a body outside the apartment door.

Scanning the area, he found the stranger to be Daniel. Addrick walked to the front door and open it. "Hello friend. Please come in…we were expecting you." Daniel stood his ground.

"I am afraid we need to leave. We are all about to have more unwanted guests than we can afford." Addrick shook his head and understood. Walking back to the bedroom, he clothed Catharine, in the way of their people, and clasped her hand dragging her to the door.

"Addrick! What's going on? Where are we going?" Catharine looked up and saw Daniel. "Oh…its you." This day was turning out to be great. Just bloody freaking great.

"Please forgive me, but we need to leave now before we have company." Daniel was already taking the form of an eagle when Cat and Addrick followed suit. All three birds took to the sky and never looked back. Cat's entire life was in that apartment and now she had the strangest feeling that she would never see it ever again.

Catharine was weak but steady. Addrick stayed directly below her left wing and stuck to her like glue. He would not let her out of his sight for anything. He tried to sooth her mind but found it a complete mess. She was worried for everyone's safety, scared for her very life, and most of all confused about her feelings for Addrick.

Touching her mind with his, he sent her images of soft kisses on her neck and whispered sweet words against her throat. The female eagle's head looked down to the males and sent him a dissatisfied look.

_Don't do this to me know Addrick. We are in danger and I want to see my mother right away…please just take me home. _She was confused and upset. Not at anyone else but herself. She knew she brought this all on herself but couldn't figure out why. For 10 years now she had these pain splitting headaches and for ten years she always woke up in strange places with her place looking like a burglar came through.

She was ashamed that she couldn't ever remember what happened, but now that she knew for a fact she did do all those things to herself…it kind of made her scared. Someone had targeted her and obviously will never leave her alone. The man behind the puppet strings will continue to possess her body until he does or find what he needs. What she needed was some answers. Hopefully; when she gets home those answers will be revealed.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Most of the flight was performed in silence. Daniel was concentrating on keeping their identities hidden while Addrick tried to keep Cat flying under the extreme strain.

She was still not too sure about what was going on with her but she felt a little better knowing that Addrick was by her side through it all.

_Tell me Daniel. _Cat began to say. _I know my father had no other children but myself, and the last Casidine I knew was my uncle…He past away when I was a small child. _She was patiently waiting for his reply when she felt him tense in mid flight.

_My father, Stephen Casidine, was murdered by vampires when I was but an infant. Unfortunately I don't remember him, but I can see him trough the eyes of both your parents. _Cat could have kicked herself in the ass with her thoughtless actions. Of course he was her cousin…Why didn't she put two and two together sooner. _My mother only survived for 7 years without my father by her side. I only remember her smile and her gentle touch…She was beautiful but so sad._

Catharine stayed silent while he spoke. She felt horrible to bring him such sad memories. _I am so sorry Daniel. I didn't mean to conjure such a sad memory for you._

_Please save your apologies Miss Catharine. We are family and more recently friends, but please don't think you have caused me pain. I lost my emotions and color a long time ago. I can't even remember what sadness feels like. _Daniel chuckled a little bit before he spoke again. _As a matter of fact the only emotion I could feel was through you. Every car ride we went on exhilarated me. The body and emotions of a dog would always take over when we went on the joy rides._

Catharine was so happy to hear him say that. At least now she knew she had a friend and a cousin by her side. _So what am I copped liver? _Addrick asked a bit irritated.

Catharine glanced below her wing and gave him a wink. _You will always be by my side Addrick, but now I feel as if I am losing you as my friend. You and I are changing into something more and it frightens me. _Addrick felt her words like a stab to her heart, but then she soothed it away by sending him images of them together. She was softly stroking him shoulders while whispering against his ear. _But please just give me some time and we will work everything out._

She smiled at him in a most becoming way. She felt different now, and sensed a different in him. They were closer than ever and she wanted more. Before she was justified with the amount of time they spent together, but now she wanted to be by his side in everything they did.

Addrick was pleased to hear her thoughts because it was the first step to admitting that they were life mates. It was also good because every moment he spent without claiming her; he became darker and more dangerous. It was as if he was propelling faster and faster and the only way to ensure the safety of the people he loved is too claim her as soon as possible.

All thoughts of him and her left when they crested the ridge above their old homes. It was a sight that he would never forget. He was home…no _they_ were home.

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**(Author's Note)**

**So ok suprise number one was revealed! Yeah Cat has a cousin!! The wolf man returns!! And the whole possession thing will start to make sense as the story progresses...i promise :-) **

**All of your reviews make me so happy. Truly. And those of you who are writing Dark fics let me just say i am enjoying them greatly. Sorry for such a short chapter but it was either i make a super long chapter of a very short one...so i settled for the middle ;-)**

**Next 2 chapters are whoppers with even more suprises! Thanks again and keep reviewing!**

**Ashley**


	12. The Stone

**Chapter 12**

Catharine's heart started to race. They have been in flight for almost the entire evening and she was about to crash from the exhaustion. That is until she crested the mountain that led them home. She could see her home with the help of her extraordinary vision.

With a new found strength, Catharine started to propel downward towards her front door. Falling faster and faster, she sent a call out to her parents. Addrick couldn't keep up with her and a sense of death washed over his senses. Scanning the area below them, he realized that it was too quite and way too still than normal.

_Cat! Stop! Don't go any further! _Addrick was panicked. He sent a quick look to Daniel and went diving after Catharine. Cat couldn't hear Addrick and nor did she care. She had been so lonely and all she wanted to do was Run to her mother's arms and sob out all the frustration she felt. She was a strong woman and never cried in front of anyone accept her mother. With her mother, she could show her true emotions and not be afraid to let her walls of vulnerability crumble.

Addrick watched her fall further and further into a silent death trap. He would swear that she would turn his hair gray with all of her foolishness. She never thinks before she runs into danger, and she never listened to him. _Catharine! If you don't stop right this moment I will lock you in a padded room in the tallest tower I can find! _

Catharine heard that comment and turned red with furry instantly. Now she was more than ever determined to get to her mother and explain to her that she couldn't be paired up with such a jerk like Addrick. Ignoring his warning she flew further to her front porch changing back into her natural form.

Almost immediately, her body burned with pain and she felt as if a thousand swords slashed through her body. With the force and gravity of her fall, she flew against the front door of her home like a rag doll at the bottom of a toy chest. Completely limp she opened her eyes and tried to move but failed. Her neck was stiff and the only function she had control over was her breathing and her eyes. It was the most frightening thing she had ever experienced. It didn't occur to her what happened till it was too late. The wires were coming at her like a brick wall in a high speed car crash. There was nothing she could do. The only thing she regretted was not heading Addrick's warning when he told her to stop.

Addrick avoided the now broken wires and rushed to her side. The poison on the wires now laid in puddles around her body. _Cat…I need you to stay as still as possible while I examine your wounds._

She was bleeding from every possible angle. Fines lines covered her body and her clothes lay in shreds around her. She looked like she had fought head on with a mountain lion. His heart was beating so fast with fear that he almost couldn't keep his calm composer. The only thing that kept the beast in him from taking over and killing everything in sight was Cat's smooth come back.

_No sweat Einstein…I can't even twitch let alone move. _She was so sassy even in her darkest hour. Her light shone through and brought him back to focus. He smiled down at her and looked into her eyes. She couldn't smile at him but he knew she was just all the same. _Don't worry Addrick…I'm not in any pain just numb. _

_Well I'm going to help you. Just stay calm and still. _Addrick looked around at her surroundings and found a presence of several other "unwanted" visitors. Looking up he scanned for Daniel.

Finding him perched on a dead chestnut tree, he sent him a message instructing him to go to the Prince and tell him what has happened.

Daniel started to protest. _Addrick you are about to be swarmed with vampires…you are going to need some back-up. _Even as Daniel spoke the words he could see that the vampires didn't make any advances to either Addrick or Catharine.

_Don't worry about us just go to the Prince and get him here as soon as possible. My father should be with him. _Regardless of whether the undead could see him or not was not the issue. Addrick needed to get Cat to safety so he could rid her of the poison before it took her body over completely. He quickly made Cat and himself form into mist and slid underneath the front door and into Cat's basement bedroom. Once he was sure nobody followed, the safeguards were placed and his work began.

He stroked Cat's hair back away from her forehead and felt her mind flood his. She was scared but trusted him. _Addrick, please don't worry. I trust you. _

She saw him suck in a sharp breath of air and fight back an emotion she had never seen in him before. He seemed so vulnerable as she laid on his lap. She had never seen him this way before. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was take all of his fears and worries away.

Addrick searched outside his body and entered into hers as a healing heat. Catharine couldn't feel it but she knew he was there all the same. She chanted lightly in her mind and tried in her best was to help him. She didn't want to think about what could have happened here in her own home, or about where her parents could be. The only thing she was thankful for was that it was her that fell into the trap and not her family.

Addrick made quick work in her body. Her internal organs had a faded film over them and everything looked sluggish. Her heart was weakened by the poison making her blood move through her like molasses on a cold day. Deeper into her body was a foreign element.

A microscopic organism was eating away at the nerve endings along every muscle and organ, and unless he destroyed them quickly, Cat's state would be permanent. He tested an organism and worked quickly at finding a weakness to destroy it. Once it was found, the real work would begin.

One by one each organism fell, but there were thousands still left to go. A panicked Catharine stopped chanting and started to scream. _My God Addrick! It hurts. I can feel it everywhere. _She didn't feel anything before but now the pain was unanimous. Every bone felt broken, and every muscle felt torn and detached from her skin. Addrick couldn't be happier to hear her screams. It meant she wasn't paralyzed, in some places, and that was a wonderful thing.

_Catharine, send yourself to sleep. Shut down your body and I will continue the work at repairing the damage. _Catharine did as she was told and closed her body down. The last thing Addrick felt from her was a small thank you.

He still had a long way to go to disassemble the organisms and he needed to save as much of his strength as he could. The organisms were diminished from the lower half of her body and he was just starting to cleanse her chest when he felt three other presences join him.

Addrick could feel the familiar healing touch of his father joined with Nicolae and his Prince. _Son you've done well. Let us finish here while you conserve your energy…Catharine will be just fine. _Gregori was smooth and collective. He was impressed that his son did so well for one of his age. A strange sense of pride washed over Gregori as he finished up with the work of his son.

Addrick joined his body with a sway and was greeted by Daniel. He clapped him on the back and steadied him while he stood up. "That was amazing Addrick. The vampires were looking right at you and not once did they see you or Catharine." Daniel held out his wrist and offered nourishment.

"Take what is freely offered to you friend. You will need your strength for what is still to come." Addrick thought about that for a moment and then nodded in agreement. He lengthened his incisors and sunk them deep into Daniel's wrist. The rich blood flowed into his starving cells and replaced the whole evening's strain. He took only what was needed before he closed the wound and thanked his new found friend.

"Daniel let me ask you something. Did you say the vampires didn't see Catharine either?" Addrick was puzzled. He thought that he had blocked the view of Catharine, but he realized he was wrong.

"When Catharine hit the maze of poisoned wires, the wires fell limp from their restraints and drew the attention of the vampires. But the vampires acted as if they couldn't see her. They looked at the porch and then drew their attention back to what they were doing before." Daniel was silent a moment and studied Addrick's face. He had seemed confused like he didn't know.

Addrick couldn't believe he had never noticed. And all this time he figured it was only him that had this strange but unique gift. "Daniel. In the time you were assigned to watch Catharine, did you ever notice that she was undetectable to the undead?"

Daniel thought about that for a moment and then realized that she had a run in with a vampire but came out of the experience without a scratch. "Catharine was walking home one night and didn't know I was watching or following her. A vampire practically ran into her but didn't attack her. I was a step behind her the whole time and almost attacked. She was fine and I destroyed the vampire when she rounded the corner." Daniel was staring off as he told the tale.

"It was the first time I had ever seen anything of it. Catharine seemed shocked as well but never gave it a second thought afterwards…Why do you ask?" Daniel asked out of curiosity.

"No reason…never mind I said anything. We need to hunt. My father, Nicolae, and the Prince will need nourishment when they are through healing Cat." With a nod Daniel and Addrick headed out into the night to feed.

**OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Daniel and Addrick soon provided for all three men and took turns hunting to gain back their full strength. Catharine was placed in the rich soil of her chamber room and buried while the men gathered just outside her door. Addrick placed a hand on his father's shoulder and smiled.

"It is good to see you father. It has been too long." Gregori gave Addrick a small smile that nobody else could see. He was proud of his son but he wasn't about let everyone know he turned to mush every time his son did a good job.

"Yes son it has, but we have a matter of great importance we need to discuss. The lives of both your mother and Catharine's was in danger earlier this evening. We are currently gathering all the females at the Prince's home to be guarded." Gregori was calm as he began to tell the story of how His mother was attacked. The story ended with the death of 9 Vampires and his mother alive.

Addrick stayed still and waited till his father finished. "I am glad she is safe father, but what I don't understand is why any vampire would attack mom when you are the most feared Carpathian in the world…What were they looking to do or accomplish by killing her?" Addrick was rubbing his head trying to figure it out. All the men sat in chairs around the kitchen island in silence. One voice spoke up by the kitchen entryway.

"They weren't trying to kill anyone. They are using the females as ransom." Everyone turned to look at Daniel as he spoke.

"We are listening Daniel. What is it that you know?" The Prince stood up and walked over to Daniel.

"When I spoke to Uncle Nicolae earlier, I stumbled across several other Vampires talking about a plan. They were looking for some…stone and Catharine is supposed to be the one that knows where it is. The were going to capture me to use as ransom. I think a master is involved sir." Addrick turned white as a ghost when he heard what was being said.

It was starting to make sense now. Grabbing the stone from around his neck he placed it on the kitchen island and stepped back. Folding his arms across his chest he looked at it.

All the men stared at the stone and then Addrick. "Is this the stone in question Addrick?" The Prince had a presence about him that reminded Addrick of the Godfather. To Addrick he was more intimidating than his own father…Although some people would probably beg to differ.

"When we were younger, before cat and I were separated, she stumbled into the nesting site of the vampires. She had found a rather remarkable sapphire encircling a ruby of the richest red I have ever seen." They all looked at the stone and then back to Addrick.

"This stone is the other half of the one that lies around Cat's neck, and I think I know why they want it." Addrick pick the stone back up and placed it back around his neck. He walked away from the other men and toward Cat's bedroom chamber. He needed to be with her and needed to feel her warmth at his side. If what he thought was true then they had a large problem ahead of them.

Addrick looked back to the kitchen and spoke quietly. "The sun is rising. I will stay here with Catharine. You should go back and guard the other females. This stone is the only thing they want and they want it because it cloaks the barer from what he or she believes to be evil."

"Cat and I will always be cloaked from the vampires. That's why we are undetectable from them. I didn't realize it until tonight, but now we have the advantage…" He looked back towards the chamber door to where Cat was resting. "…Now we can devise a plan."

* * *

**(Author's Note)**

**Oh more suprises!! I love it. I had to bring back all of my favorite characters from Feehan's dark series...but more familiar names are still to come.**

**So what do you all think of the "Stone"...making more sense yet? I do hope so and i hope you all like where it is going cause i want to do a sequel for this story as well. Daniel will be the main character along with a mystery woman. She hasn't told me her name yet but i am sure it will come to me. As always I am accepting and open to any suggestions ;-)**

**I am afraid that i only have one more suprise left for you all, but it will come a bit later in the story. :-( But i promise it will be a good one!!**

**As always thank you so much for reviewing. Honestly, if you all wouldn't review i probably wouldn't write much...so thanks again and enjoy!**

**Ashley**


	13. At Last

**(Author's Note)**

**So the 19th was my birthday...and i must say that it sucked big time. So instead of being down all week i decided to get to work and post the new chapter of this story. **

**Consider it my gift to you all. Enjoy**

**Ashley**

**P.S. Due to "R" rated material please know that you were all warned before you read.**

**

* * *

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**Chapter 13**

Addrick found his way to the outside door of Catharine's bedroom and paused. He had placed her in danger all along. He tried to think of ways he could save her from confronting the master vampire and he couldn't.

From the right side of his body, he slid his palm up the oak surface of her door. He could feel her just beyond the other side and still felt so far away. He had not claimed her yet and every waking moment was becoming too dangerous. He knew what he had to do. The only way to ensure her safety was to claim her before this rising and deal with the repercussion when he woke her.

He waited a few moments to argue with himself and creaked open the door. The beast within him was strong and demanded to be with its mate. He had waited over a hundred years to be with her, and in that time he grew from a boy to a man. His once lean body had developed into a muscular one. Even the short cropped hair he had as a youth had grown tame and long. He looked more and more like his father every day, and the people he knew as a child now cowered before him like they did his father.

The weight of the door sucked his strong frame into her room. She lay beneath the soil healing, and he knelt by her resting site. As he willed the soil to uncover her body he purred to her. "Wake for me Catharine. I want to see your lovely face."

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at him. He could live forever in her eyes. He never found them intimidating like most people did, and in all actuality, he found the blackness of her stare quite breathtaking.

"I can read your thoughts." Cat uttered in a short breath. Her chest grew tighter and she felt as if her world her falling from beneath her. None of this made sense to her anymore. She felt vulnerable like a school girl.

"I know…and I mean every word." He held out his hand for her to take hold of and pulled her form from the earth's open arms. He didn't say a word but brought his hand up to touch her face. A lump formed deep in his chest and he found it suddenly hard to catch his breath. Why was this so hard?

His scent brought Cat's senses to life. The foreign rush of liquid met her excited state making her feel unkempt and new. He was touching her like he hadn't seen her in years. Then that burning deep in her core flared up and all seemed lost. She knew he wasn't forcing her to feel this way. She had to stop lying to herself and face her fate with an open heart and not some silly lie she told herself for years.

She knew he was her man and the thought of him not being with her every day was all of a sudden too unbearable to think of. She needed him and wanted him, but was too stubborn and afraid to admit it.

His thumb traced a burning path across the bottom of her lip, and she held him for support in her weakened state. His face grew ever closer as he leaned to the side of her delicate jaw. The darkness of her hair brushed against his suddenly dry lips and the smell of her fresh skin stirred the beast within him to the surface. He placed a small lingering kiss against her cheek before he heard her sigh.

That was all in invitation he needed to capture her lips with his own. The slowness was intoxicating to a point of pain, but he had to be gentle because she wasn't even an hour into her healing. She felt so fragile in his arms. He was so afraid that he would hurt her that he picked her up and stood her up beside her four poster bed.

She felt a tremble run the length of her body as she felt how strong he actually was. Cat wasn't sure when it happened but she found his strength very attractive. Every detail was different. He was a man and her body and soul was very aware of its mate. She was so confused but some how knew all along that he was her man…and there could be no other for her.

His kisses were so sweet and sexy that her guards went down. She didn't care what was going to happen. She just wanted to make her one dream come true. She wanted companionship and love. She was tired of reading the steamy books with the two lovers on the cover. She wanted the real thing and not just some of it…she wanted all of it or nothing at all.

Addrick groaned with her thinking and lifted the hem of her long shirt pulling it free of her body. She didn't object but blushed under his hungry eyes. His hand framed her rib cage and cupped the soft weight of her breast. The lace of her bra brought her nipples to new sensitized peaks. The rough hands that were once on her were replaced with the heat of his mouth. She could feel him through the fabric and shuddered when he spoke to her in their ancient language. _God I wish I would have studied harder so I could understand what you just said to me. _She gasped as she circled his head and pulled him closer to her.

Addrick couldn't help but laugh a little and ripped the offensive fabric from her body. _I said a beauty, such as you, should never wear clothes again. _The cool air in her chamber brushed her sensitized skin, bringing a whole new sense to the word pleasure. But before Addrick could return to the attentions of her body his eyes found all the ugly bruises left behind from the attack on her life. It was his entire fault. He should have been more alert to the danger to her.

He knelt his head to a bruise under her rib cage and began a slow intimate healing. She reached for him and tried to stop him. It was becoming very embarrassing to her that he felt more inclined to heal her than kiss her.

His eyes shot up and challenged her. "Never think I don't want you. My first duty is to protect my lifemate, and since I failed to do that I plan on killing two birds with one stone." She wasn't about to argue the whole lifemate issue again because he looked so hurt. He really did want her…really did _need_ her.

_Of course I do pet. How could I not want to be with you? My heart was so empty without you. I've missed you so much. Can't you see what you are doing to me? _He clasped her hands with his own and guided them down to the suddenly hard length of him. She was so shocked. Her eyes grew wide with embarrassment and turned three shades of red and pink, but soon everything melted away when he kissed her with such a fierce hunger.

A wave of his hand leapt to life the healing candles and soon filled the room with a sweet herbal scent. The two bodies fell into the softness of the bed while Addrick placed himself above her. Looking down at her bare breasted in the candle light drove him over the edge. He shed his shirt with just a thought and swept a hand behind her back for support.

Clutching on too him, she lifted her body to his gaze. Her head tilted back gave him a clear view of her vulnerable throat. The smell of blood was thick in his senses. Her very essence was beating for him. Calling to him. Demanding that he take what is his before the beast does. He reached down to her offering and suckled gently. He made small circles around her pulse. The clothes, surrounding his body, were suddenly too tight and rough against his skin. He struggled for a few moments before Catharine laughed and reached down to help him. He watched her unbutton his jeans and rested her hand against the length of him.

She inhaled sharply when he was freed and gasped when she caught the sight of him. The first thing she thought of was how painful it would be to take him. Shaking her head no she started to pull away. Addrick held tightly to her and smiled at her. _You can take me pet. Never doubt that. We are two halves of the same whole. You and I were made to fit._

_Yeah right. But you're not the one who has to feel the pain of our joining. _There was that sarcastic spunk he loved about her. He leaned down to kiss her lightly before he trailed his hand down the heat of her core. She protested only a second before he expertly worked her tense body into a restless frenzy of energy.

She could feel herself being built up and wound tightly. She became frustrated when he stopped but soon sucked in a breath when she felt him enter a long finger inside her.

Addrick was going crazy. She gripped him tighter every time he added a finger. He could take it anymore. Her soft moans and whimpers were enough drive him over the edge right there. Only when she started to rock herself against his hand did he stop and pull back. The look on her face was one of sexual frustration. Her senses had gone and her shields were down for his taking. This is what he wanted from her this night but somehow it felt so wrong. She was finally accepting him and he was about to abuse it by taking her only freedom away.

The heat of her soon swept all that thought away and he became very aware of her unique scent being mixed with something new. He trailed a burning path of bites down to her thigh. She struggled to be free of him and failed when he pinned her hips in place.

_I want to taste you love. _His voice purred as he replaced his fingers with the intimacy of a kiss. She stopped protesting and tilted her head back in light of the new feelings he was producing.

_Don't close you eyes love…I want to watch you as I make love to you. _

How could she not obey? With her embarrassment gone and senses soaring high, she couldn't joust not stare into his eyes as he brought her higher and higher to the top. She felt herself ready for a release when he stopped and pulled away.

She protested and grabbed for him. Her body was on fire and only he could put it out. _You started this ache in me now come and finish it. _She wasn't joking either. Heads were going to roll if she didn't get what she wanted right then and there.

Addrick laughed a little and settled himself between her legs he positioned himself at her entranced and pinned her hips to the softness of her bed. _Do you want me Catharine? Do you want all of me?_

_Since the moment you came back into my life._

There was no more doubt left in her she knew he was hers and she knew they belonged together. Her voice was steady and her will was strong. No more hiding behind stupid girlish fantasies and lies. This was her fate, this man in front of her.

He almost choked when she spoke to him. She accepted him and wanted him the same way he needed and wanted her. She moved herself suggestively against the length of him and waited for his intrusion.

Inch by delicious inch he entered the tightness of her sheath. Every so often he would pause and let her adjust to the length of him until he reached a breach in there love making. He stopped moving and bent down to the hollow of her neck, and with one swift movement, sank his incisors deep into her throat while breaking through her maiden head.

Her body shuddered in pain beneath his, but the pleasure of taking blood and the sexual tension between the young couple gave way to a heated storm of fire and lightning. She met him thrust for thrust and just when she thought she couldn't take anymore she sank deep into his chest. The blood flowed to her starving cells like rain water to a desert plant.

She had never taken blood from him like this before. In the heat of passion, she listened as he spoke to her. Words as old as time itself spilled over his lips and wove a spell around the two in the room.

"I claim you as my lifemate." The words came in a fast rush as he surged deeper into her wet tight channel. "I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give to you my protection, my allegiance, me heart, my soul and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours." The waves were rising ever faster and it was becoming impossible to breath. Catharine closed the pinpricks on his chest and let herself climb to the top of her climax.

"Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care." Addrick barley got the words out as they reached a bliss that was to perfect for words.

Catharine stilled under his body as the waves of aftershock swept through her. Suddenly what felt like a thousand tiny strands pulled from her heart and soul and bound itself to the man above her. She struggled to figure out what had just happened. She didn't just make love to Addrick…he had bound them together. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew all the same. Tears threatened to surface as she thought of her lost freedom.

Panic welled up inside of her. "Oh god Addrick…what have you done?!" She started to hyperventilate when he sent her into a deep sleep. She was close to exhaustion and was in no way ready for a fight let alone a battle of tears and heart ache. He would right everything when he woke her in a couple of days.

He cleaned both their bodies before he prepared them for a long rest. Cat's body was still in desperate need of healing and his was needing to be beside his new lifemate.

"Please forgive me for taking your freedom away from you." He kissed the top of her head and let his body give into the lethargic state of rest. The sun was at high noon and he could stay awake no longer. Everything would be ok now. He was safe from turning and she was going to be safe from any danger that confronted her.

He tried to convince himself he had no choice but to claim her, but he felt he did it for all the selfish reasons. He would make it up to her if it's the last thing he ever does.


	14. Battle Plans

**Chapter 14**

For three days and nights, Catharine and Addrick laid in the healing arms of the earth while a plan was being hashed together by the men just over the hill. Gregori and Mikhail conversed in the study of the Prince's grand home, pulling the plan together one loose strand at a time. There was no room for mistakes this time and no room for any error. They had to make sure that all the bases were covered and that they kept the advantage on their side.

Together they had gathered all of the vulnerable women of their race and kept them safe under the watchful eye of every male they could find. The empty halls and rooms of the Prince's home filled to that of a grand five star hotel. Healers and warriors alike stood side by side ready to fight a battle they were sure would be the turning point for their race. No one was spared and no talent was overlooked.

The Carpathian artist's were busy working on hundreds of false stones that looked exactly like Cat and Addrick's. The grand ballroom was soon covered with sapphire and ruby replicas of the great stone the evil master was in search for. Even the children found jobs helping the warriors set traps and safe guards around the perimeter of the great home. Learning from the greatest hunters was more than an honor and all the children younger and older jumped at the chance to lend a helping hand.

Even the women whose voices sang pure and true, were busy recording hypnotic ballads directed by Deserai and her band of musical geniuses. All seemed to be in place. Now all they had to do was wait for the attack.

"Your son is very brave Gregori. You should be proud of his achievements." Mikhail said as he glanced at his second in command with a solemn face. Gregori looked up from his writings and stared off into the fire that was blazing in front of him.

"I can not even express the pride I feel in my son, but I must say that I am worried for his safety and his lifemates'. The part they play in this battle goes against every law we decree." He looked up from the hypnotic draw of the flame and looked to his Prince for any advice he could get. "He will be placing Catharine in the most dangerous of positions and I don't feel that putting her up for bait is the answer here. It's just too dangerous… for both of them." Gregori was careful to keep a blank stare. Already he had shown too much of his vulnerability and felt a deep shame stain his soul.

Mikhail was younger than Gregori by several years and learned much from him growing up into the leader of their people. It shook him to think that Gregori doubted the plan they all agreed too and worse of all how he was doubting himself for agreeing to it. Thank God he never had a daughter or they would all be lost.

"We are taking all the necessary precautions for the safety of the women and children. That also means that we are protecting your son and his new lifemate from any and all harm as well. You also can't forget that they also have the added protection of their stone."

Everything Mikhail was saying was true, but he soon understood what Savannah was telling him about motherhood. He shook his head and smiled to himself. "My God I'm acting like an over protected mother hen." The laughter of both men interrupted the silence and drew the attention of Nicolae, Daniel, and Dimitri.

All three men entered the room and took up comfortable positions around the large study. Mikhail stood and walked over to Dimitri. Patting him on the back, he escorted Dimitri into a quieter corner of the room and spoke to him in a hushed tone only the two could here. "Friend how are you?"

Mikhail was worried for Dimitri and wondered if it was wise to have him fight when he was so close to turning. You see, only a few months prior, Dimitri found his lifemate only to understand that she is the ward to Gabriel and Francesca. Her name was Skyler and unfortunately…still a child by even Carpathian standards. There was no way of claiming her and won't be until she is of proper age. In the mean time, Dimitri has distanced himself from all contact with her. Living in a virtual hell of sorts. Not wishing to scare her or tempt himself with claiming her, he moved away for a short time to gather his thoughts and learn to control his new emotions and colors. After all it wasn't her fault she was able to stir such emotions from him. She had seen and lived through too much in her young age and had the mentality of a woman…only stuck in a youth's body.

"I grow tired with each passing day, my Prince, but I am a fighter first and foremost. I will not back down from protecting my fellow brothers and sisters" He grew silent for a moment before he spoke to Mikhail again.

His head bowed low before he looked up with pain filled eyes. "Skyler is in great pain Mikhail. Her heart and soul are searching and screaming for me, but I can't touch her or be with her yet. All I can do is ease her pain by talking to her...deep in her mortal sleep."

"You will serve to be a good lifemate to her as well Dimitri. All you have to do is stay strong and fight a little longer. Even though she is young, she is wiser beyond her years and that's why she has returned your colors and emotions so soon. We will talk soon my friend but for now tell me of the status of your wolves." Mikhail placed a friendly hand on his shoulder as to change the topic in as easy of a way as possible. The pain seemed to subside for a moment as he thought about the question.

"I have my wolves at every corner of the estate while the alpha pairs control both the lower regions to the north." Mikhail was pleased and gave his friend an appreciative smile. Conversations were gathering thicker in the den making the once spacious room feel small and confined.

Before you knew it, Lucian and Gabriel joined the ranks followed by the De La Cruz brothers. Soon afterwards, Carpathians old and ancient filtered in as if summoned by some unseen force. Some had lifemates and others were dangerously close to turning. Regardless; It warmed Mikhail to sit back and watch the future of their race converse and meet each other in the short time allowed to them.

Clearing his throat with a small cough, Mikhail demanded the attention and respect of the room. Gregori took his place up beside his Prince and the meeting official started.

**OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

A heartbeat sounded deep within the soil of Nicolae's home. Catharine fought her way through the fog and cobwebs through her mind and knew she had been commanded to sleep not too long ago. Bursting through the soil, she clothed herself in the elegant way of her people and stalked to the chamber door.

A static charge blocked her escape and slowly she began to unravel the strong safeguards blocking her escape. She was in Addrick's mind at every waking moment all through her childhood and could read him like a book if she chose. But these safeguards were newer to her and must have been learned during their separation.

A hand crept up the small of her back and she turned on a sharp heel to face the man she despised at the moment. Red flames licked within the depths of her eyes and her hair flew around her body by an unseen force.

She produced an astonishing amount of power that made Addrick think twice before speaking. _That would be wise of you…you arrogant pig. How dare you take my freedom away from me! And just when I was starting to trust you again!_

Her voice flooded his mind and even though it was a clear threat, he couldn't help but feel the sharp and urgent demands his body made of him. Slowly, as if stalking prey, he stepped to the side of her and let her walk past him.

Her scent filled his lungs while the strength of her anger created a static charge throughout the chamber. "Come now love, I had no choice. Our bodies and souls call for each other and not even you could deny what we shared last night."

Slowly he traced each step she made. Every movement was tantalizing. Seductive. He would have to make her understand what was going on and what danger they were in, or he could lose not only her, but himself as well.

Catharine stood there in the darkness of the room with her arms folded across her chest. The image reminded Addrick of the time they were children and playing beside the lake. She was pouting because he wouldn't jump in the water with her. The memory burned in his mind and he thanked God for every memory she was able to restore within him. He remembered his loved ones and what it felt like to love someone so deeply. Colors, even in the darkness of their chamber, shown brightly as if it were day. She did that to him and only she would save him from certian death.

Addrick grabbed and held the weight of her long dark hair and massaged it between his fingers. The smooth silk of her hair just begged to be touched and toyed with.

Drawing her hair to his face, he could feel her body back into him. The tense shoulders eased and softened under his touch and for once she felt a true longing for him. She really did _need_ him. She knew that now. And God how she _needed him._

Addrick couldn't help but smile as he drew her into his arms and captured her mouth with his own. He felt the storm and anger in her but couldn't help himself. As if carma had kicked him in the dirt, she leaned into him and bit his bottom lip. Nearly severing it. Then as if she didn't care...she walked away from her shocked man.

Walking away from him she couldn't help but show pride in her own smugness.

_You just remember one thing Addrick…the only reason I feel anything for you right now is because you tricked me and bounded me to you. Had I known what you were going to do I would have been better prepared. _She paced to the bathroom and turned to face him with a smirk only she could carry. Then slammed the bathroom door shut with a clear message that stated to leave her be.

Licking his wound on his mouth, he healed it and stared at the door…this fight was far from over.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

The water of the shower was familiar and refreshing. It ran like liquid gold from the highest waterfall. Every drop clung to her smooth pale skin and sought the curves of her form that Addrick was becoming so accustomed too. She took pleasure in the human things like showers and make-up. And right now…oh how the steam and shampoo lifted her spirits. This was Cat's idea of her "At home" therapy.

Addrick slipped under the door, as mist, and found his way into the shower beside her. He hovered a moment and simply watched her relax into the hot water. She seemed like a sad angel of darkness and he wanted to just shake her to make her understand that they are supposed to be together. Carefully he entered her mind and found a thunderstorm of emotion. She was proud of herself for biting him but kicked herself for hurting him so.Cat was considering going out to check on him...so naturally he granted her wish.

Reforming in front of her, she screamed and backed up against the tile wall.

"Geese Addrick what the hell are you trying to do?!" She knew he would come in sooner or later, but never did she expect her to scare the life out of her.

Bringing a hand to frame her face he smiled and bit her bottom lip drawing her sweet blood into his mouth. She yelped in pain but soon felt relief when he swept his tongue across her mouth. He felt like fire and ice…summer and winter…and my how he was addicting.

_That was for your little stunt out there love. I am not the gentle boy you once knew…I am your lifemate and you will learn to respect me as I am learning to respect you._

Suddenly the rage was back and her hunger slammed her sharply. She had not feed well in days and right now he was too damn tempting. She grabbed at his hair and yanked his head back so she could drink deeply of his life blood. Her incisors sank deeply and relentlessly into the column of his throat. She felt the waves of desire rushing through her and forced him to feel what he was doing to her.

Completely wild and untamed, she demanded him to take her and dared him not to comply. Addrick was more than willing but would choose his own pace. Licking the pinpricks across his throat she drew in a ragged breath. Fear slammed against her rib cage and she tried desperately to place Addrick behind her for protection, but was unsuccessful when Addrick caught on to what was going on.

Addrick stopped suddenly and scanned the surrounding area for a breech in his safe guards. Someone was coming…and he was strong.

"Get dressed and stay in the back part of the chamber. I'm going out to see what it is." He gave her a clear order and gave a strong push for her to comply. This time he wasn't joking nor would he allow her to put herself in danger.

"Like hell you are. You aren't going anywhere without me…I'm not done with you yet." The angry look on her face said everything. And then she realized what she had just said. A deep red blush crept up her cheeks and forced her to look away.

Addrick pulled her to him and held her tightly. "As much as it pleases me to hear you say that, I can't have you risk your life. It is my job to protect you and right now I have to keep you safe…there is a master vampire looking for you and I will not allow him to succeed."

Her heart was racing now. How could she have been so blind? Addrick turned from her towards the door and was grabbed by the length of his shirt. "Don't leave me…please…" She choked out the words through sobs and pleaded for him to stay with her while she needed him the most.

In that moment he realized he had let all of the information out at once. He allowed her to see the plot to kill her and the part she played with the stone. She knew everything was her fault and now needed him to comfort her. He could have kicked himself for being so careless with the information he leaked out.

_Shh pet. All is going to be right. I am here and I am not going anywhere. I will call for aid._ She felt so fragile in his arms just then. Like a child's porcelain doll. All he could do was hold her as her world came crashing down at once. Her strong will and short temper melted away and what was left was a side of Catharine he had never seen before.

With his heart aching to heal her and make her feel better, he called for his father and his new father in law for help.

_Nothing will harm you this night pet. And I will be right here for you…always._

* * *

**(Author's Note)**

**So i know i have been slacking...sorry. I just got a new job and had to go through 6 interviews. But boy oh boy how much happier i am now. **

**I want to thank everyone that has reviewed my work thus far:**

**J.W Rosethorn, Elenemire, Ally N. S., and Ouiplante...as always you are so helpful in all ways possible. Thanks guys and thank you Ally for giving me the name for the next female in the upcoming story...Dark Wolf**

**Mary, Annie, CurseD, Darkvampireangel, and others...You are all so wonderful and so supportive in my work...**

**Thank you all for being so patient with me!! and as always review if you can!!**

**Ashley**


	15. Show Time

**(Author's Notes)**

**Ok Ok Ok i know...i am sorry for being away for so long. New job and a new man to add to the mix ; ). It only leads to more inspired chapters. This is a short one but i am getting back on a regular schedule as before. I just wanted to get this posted before you all thought i abandoned you in the best part of the story!!! Never!!!**

**Have some great ideas that i think you will all enjoy...promise ; ) as always enjoy and give the feedback if you can.**

-**Ashley**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

In the basement level of Nicolae's immaculate house stood a frightened female in the arms of a strong male. She looked up and searched the eyes of her lifemate.

_If we die down here…I mean, if anything should happen to us. _Cat was so frightened that she couldn't even find the words buried deep in her chest. Taking a deep breath she started again and was hushed by Addrick.

_Don't even think such things pet. Nothing will happen to us. _He thought it sweet that she was so worried about him.

Knowing how she truly felt hit her hard and almost took her breath away with the sudden realization. He was a shadow in her mind at all times and knew how much she loved him. He just wanted her to admit to herself and out loud. Bending over, he sought the warmth of her mouth and reassured her mind and body.

Picking up the stone around her neck, Addrick watched her eyes widen in excitement. Cat clothed herself in as much black as she could imagine and grabbed Addrick's hand to lead him to a secret escape chamber in her room.

"Cat stop we can't go out through here. It could be a trap waiting for us." Addrick spoke the words but had a feeling that Cat wasn't listening to a word he was saying. She just continued to rummage through her closet till she found her lucky pack. Plucking it out of the old clothes and dusty trinkets, the old worn fabric brought a comfort and confidence to Cat that she could always rely on. For years she had gone without it and right now she needed every bit of strength she could find.

"Help me move this box Addrick." She threw the order at him like a general of a grand army…and to tell you the truth, Addrick had no intention of pissing her off. Not after the display of power she threw at him earlier.

The box was moved and a tiny door lay behind it just like the rabbit hole out of an Alice and Wonderland movie. "Cat come out of the closet and forget this idea. I will not allow you to put yourself in danger."

Slowly she stood and plucked a piece of parchment out of her lucky pack. Unfolding it carefully she held it up to Addrick's line of vision. Addrick pulled the fragile yellow paper closer to his face to examine what was drawn on it. "What is this?"

"This is our new battle plan my dear man." With all the confidence in the world she snatched back the parchment and pointed to a small black dot on what looked like a hill marker.

"We are going to go back to where this whole thing started, and destroy the threat before someone we know and love gets hurt." Addrick looked at his brave little mouse and saw the tigress perched deep in the depths of her eyes.

Before Addrick even had the chance to speak Cat cut him off. _And before you say no please hear me out. We have the stone, obviously this master can sense when it is close. But what if he senses it in two different places? _

The thought was pure genius. He was always so preoccupied with protecting Cat that he never thought that separating them could help their situation.

"I hope your right about this Cat, but know that I am in charge and you will follow my lead on this. I can not have you go face to face with the undead and chance you getting hurt in any way."

With a smile as large as life, Cat held out her hand to shake on it. They were back! A team once more and nothing could ever take that away from them. Not ever again.

Pulling the hood of her sweater up over her head, Cat slipped into the darkened hole behind the neatly decorated door while Addrick safeguarded the entrance after her. With a long sigh he redirected his focus on the task at hand.

He was a constant shadow in her mind. Never letting her take a step without him assessing the area first. This was going to be harder than he thought, but now wasn't the time to worry about her. She was stronger than she appeared and he needed a clear head to fight.

Then like the undead read his thoughts, the barriers began to unravel and the safeguards along the chamber door started to weaken.

Addrick's features turned dark and cruel. The silver depths turned the color of coal leaving a burning trail of determination deep within. He knew the undead wouldn't be able to see him so he had to try and lure them away from where Cat was heading.

Turning his head to one side, he watched the seal of his last safeguard break letting a foul odor seep through. Thousands of scorpions followed the noxious gas and gave way to three very old vampires.

_Show time boys…_


	16. The Smug One

**Chapter 16**

The smell of musty walls and stale air filled Cat's lungs as she crawled through the tight space. It had been some time since she went through the escape tunnel her father had made for her. What once was a place to play hide and seek was now a place that felt abandoned and haunted.

The walls of the tunnel were made from old stone that had been smoothed by the moisture that lined its forgotten surface. _God how this place has changed._ She thought to herself as she pushed past the Spanish moss and soggy spider webs. Before she could think about bugs, a smell of mold and rotting flesh filled her senses and watered her eyes.

Gagging on the foul stench, she stopped to get her self together. _Are you in need of me mouse? _

God there he was again…always a breath behind her. She hated how he was up her ass all the time and then again she was becoming use to him. She actually caught herself smiling as he communicated to her. It was more intimate than she remembered. Her heart warmed at the thought of him now. But now was not the time to lose her mind in silly girlish dreams.

_No He-man. I am fine I think I am just a little bit on the Closter phobic side right now. I don't remember this tunnel being so cramped. I either got real fat or this tunnel shrunk on me._

She could hear him laughing. He was laughing at her. Then she caught the vision in his mind. Her... stuck in the tunnel with a sour look on her face. Oh yes he was going to pay for that one.

_I'm sorry pet. I couldn't resist. Reach for me if you find need of me._

Once she caught her breath, she decided it was best to follow the rest of this journey as a much smaller being. Holding the image of a mouse in her head, her body began to contort. Bones cracked and popped leaving a frame of a mouse in the stead of the woman. Fur erupted from her flesh and finger nails were replaced by tiny claws. She had a sweet disposition as a mouse.

It was much easier to travel through the tunnel now. Her whiskers picked up movements and her tiny nose seemed to conquer the foul odor the tunnel harvested. She was getting closer to her escape. About a 100 more yards was a brush covered trap door that led through the tunnel. Safe guards protected the exit from intruders making anyone coming near it feel a sense of nausea and wanting to turn to go back the other way.

All the time she felt a sense of evil. Slowly following her movements from up above was a small fleet of the undead. Her heart searched for its mate. Addrick was defeating the undead one by one with ease. It did help that no evil could see them. And for that she thanked God.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Addrick was fighting off the undead one by one with ease, while the men above him struggled against the high odds. There was a stench of evil so thick that it brought an era of fear unlike Addrick had never known.

Every man, woman, and child of the Carpathian race, depended on Addrick and Cat right now. Without them, the undead would rise and they would all be lead by a much more powerful being than they could have ever imagined. His mind began to search its mate's.

His touch was upon her mind was as gentle as silk on skin. He didn't want to distract her while she was getting closer to her goal. She was fearless and strong, and he couldn't help but smile.

Her plan had worked wonderfully. The large army, of evil, was divided into two major groups. One of which was taking over Nicolae's grand home and turning it inside out to find their precious stone. While the other tried to follow the sweet sent of the woman they had tracked for so many years, but couldn't find.

With Cat's strength, he sucked in a final breath and began unfolding the plan his father had set out for him. It was time to eliminate the threat and bring justice their prince has called. And without a further thought, Addrick began climbing the steps that would lead to a battle he had preparing for his entire existence.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

The door that lead to the freshness of the night air was protected with a safeguard passed down her family for generations. Only the select few knew how to unravel it without causing their own death as a result. Very slowly she began the hard trail.

Her hands stretched out in front of her and she began working out the puzzle her father had trained her to solve at such a young age. Barrier after barrier had fallen and she felt its magic weaken which meant that her enemies could too.

_You will only have a short time to escape the latch before the undead are able to reach you. Please take caution because when you come home we are having a long overdue talk about your disobedience young lady. _Nicolae scolded as he warned his daughter.

Cat smiled and felt the warmth and aid her father gave. He helped her unravel the last of the barriers and went back to the task at hand.

The cool air of the night greeted Cat with a rush that was soon followed by the offensive smell of rotting flesh and decaying bone. The undead seemed confused at first. Nothing came from the entrance…or so they thought. Cat stepped lightly to the side watching as each abomination began walking over to the hole in the ground.

Curiosity struck the bravest of the undead and before you knew it, each one strode cautiously into the musty interior of the tunnel. One by one, each vampire walked forward to meet there fate.

Her plan was coming together perfectly now. As the last vampire took its leave into the tunnel, she turned as quickly as she could and sealed the entrance with the strongest barrier she knew. The trapped beings hissed and screamed in rage, trying in vain to escape their prison.

A small smile curved on the features of Cat's firm mouth. _It's all too easy…Hey He-man! Do me a favor and torch the end of your tunnel. _She made sure she sounded smug. She was proud of how well her plan hatched out.

_Remind me to bend you over my knee to give you what you deserve later. _Addrick barley breathed the words in her mind and it made her ache with a new found warmth like she never knew before.

_Later. But now I need to get back to the palace and help the others. _

_Ok but be safe. I will take care of trash…By the way…you were brilliant._

Cat smiled and started a small sprint the palace that held the hope and dream of her people. She felt perfect in that moment. Confident in her quest, she closed her eyes and started to shift. Her body launched itself in the air while the familiar cracking of bone and sinew reshaped her body into the familiar shape she once knew.

Her thick fur and keen sense of smell gave her a new sense of freedom. It had been far too long since she took the shape of a wolf. And now was a time for celebrating. They were winning this war and she was part of the master plan. Most importantly she had a partner in crime again.

Her paws hit the thick forest floor and began to soar along the ground…pumping her lungs with air while she gained speed. She was heading towards the clearing of the trees when her lungs began to burn and her air became constricted.

Cat never even knew what had happened until she looked down upon the blood soaked ground and felt her body take its original form. Everything around her began to swim. She didn't even have the strength to clothe herself.

The strangest thing was that she felt no pain and felt no fear. The sound of a man tore her gaze upward. He seemed weak and vulnerable…an evil ora penetrating her pure spirit and light.

He seemed decrepit and old. A long beak like nose and gnarled hands came within inches of her face grazing her plaint cheek with a dingy yellow nail. She tried to move but failed…tried to scream but couldn't. How could he see her?! What just happened?

"Hello my dear. It has been far too long. Let me introduce myself…I am Xavier." He spoke with such a hoarse voice that you would have thought him to pass any day now. His teeth were sharp and stained with breath to match the appearance. Quickly she reached for Addrick…she had to save hi from this. Warn him some how.

Xavier waived his fingers in a pattern around her head while whispering an incantation under his breath. "Tsk, Tsk precious…It would be unwise to reach for him. You wouldn't want you to ruin the surprise for him now would you?"

She felt her body collapse under the strain. Panic welled up in her throat as her paralyzed body began to stiffen. The man who called himself Xavier dangled a necklace in front of her eyes. Her stone…the necklace Addrick had made for her. How did he get it?

"I want to thank you dear for returning my property. But you have broken it. I need the other half and would very much like to know where the other half is." She couldn't breath! The stone began to blur and the last thing she could remember was the smell of defeat as she felt her body being lifted and carried away.

Then all went black.

* * *

**(Author's Notes)**

**Ok so I would hope that the ending of this chapter wasn't too obvious to all of you ; )**

**This chapter was a bit hard for me. Due to all of the drama and romance and blending enough battle scene was a toughy... but as always i will pull through for you all. Nevertheless; This story is coming to a close and that can only mean that i have another one stewing on the back burner getting ready for and upload!! Yea!!**

**I am also tossing around the idea of making the next female character Amy from Evanesence. Have you ever truly listened to the lyrics of her songs?! Pretty damn close to the Carpathian stuff ehh?...Ideas? anyone? do or don't? let me know cause i love having all of your feedback. **

**Reveiw if you can and enjoy!**

**-Ashley**


	17. A Light In The Darkness

**Chapter 17**

A void was all that was left. Her sprit wasn't there. Addrick tried in vain to reach her, but all he was greeted with was cold emptiness. She wasn't just closing herself off either. One minute she was there, running and feeling proud, and the next she had tried to reach him. True fear beat off of her like a sweet perfume. All the while a dark rage filled his insides and threatened to take over his very being.

He sent out a warning to all men in the area to find her at all costs. His only light to this world was in trouble and he needed to bring her back before it was too late.

**OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

A smell…A sweet and smokey wood smell met Catharine's awakening, followed shortly by the cool chilled air on her naked skin. She felt drugged. Her mind was a fog and she could sense what was going on, but couldn't seem to bring herself do anything more than crack her eyes open to see.

She drew in a deep calming breath. She was not going to get very far if she was going to panic. God she needed to come up with a plan. Closing her eyes again, Cat reached to the deepest part of her mind and tried to tap into Addrick's spirit. Every entrance and exit was blocked, and she was trapped in a way that she could never begin to think of how to get out. And the worse part was that she started to experience pain whenever she tried. It felt as if thousands of pins and needles were piercing her skull. Now what was she going to do?

_Well idiot you've really done it this time. You wanted an escape from Addrick and his annoying self, and now you have it. _She cursed to herself in her mind. If she had the strength and ability to move, she would've smacked her pounding head with the palm of her hand. _Ok think stupid…how am I going to get myself out of this jam? _

Then it came to her. It became so simple in that one moment. Everything she had learned from men in the past came to the front of her mind. All men craved power and lust. She just needed to use her femininity the way God had intended her too. One last deep breath and she moved her pawn into position. The game had begun.

**OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO**

Three very dark souls peered through from the dimmed corner of the room. Each of them with a dark intent to make the bared woman on the table their own. "She has been mine ever since she was a child. Nicolae has kept her from me and forced me to see the ways of the so called "Warriors"." The first of the creatures said under his breath. He spat across the floor and watched the dingy yellow liquid burn a spot in the floor where it had landed.

He stared at that spot as if mesmerized. Looking at the smoked edges of the new hole, that once bore some of the strongest wood in those mountains, he tried in vain to feel something…anything. The more he tried the angrier he became. He felt robbed and cheated of not only his life, but of his power here on earth. Yes ever since that Mage came to him at the turn of his life, he has been powerless. Now all that remained was this pawn of an empty shell.

He roared in anger and threw his fist into the wall. "No more waiting around! I am claiming my woman now!" The evil one said in a raspy voice. Cat's heart pounded in her ears as she watched the once noble man approach her. She forced a sweet smile in his direction and tried to set her voice in the sexiest octave she could.

"I thought you would never get the nerve to come and talk to me." The statement seemed to have caught the dark one off guard. "Don't play your mind tricks on me wench. You stink of that foul maggot, Addrick. You laid with him recently. I can see his marks on your body!" His gaze drifted in between the valley of her breasts where the faint strawberries were placed. The beauty of their lovemaking was now starting to feel disgusting and unclean. She tried not to feel vulnerable, but it was difficult. Being displayed in this manner not only took away her control but made her feel like an insect underneath a magnifying glass.

The pain rippled through her mind as she screamed for Addrick. Again she took a calming breath and tried to draw the undead's eyes from her marked body. "I only laid with him because he forced me too. I had to find a way to get to you…can't you see we are lifemates? Can't you feel the connection when we are close? You need to untie me so we can escape together." She waited a moment to see if the creature bought her plea. After what seemed like an eternity, the evil one smirked wide. Showing his dingy yellow teeth and receding gum line dripping in what looked like thick black tar.

"I knew you were mine. That father of yours was just jealous of what we have. I will make it my first priority to destroy his worthless self after I take the liberty of slitting Addrick's throat and drinking him dry." The cockiness in his voice made her want to vomit. Just the mere thought of loosing Addrick made her ill. She swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat and stomached another fake, yet convincing smile.

"Nothing would make me happier…my love." Yes she was almost free. The evil soul dragged his claws slowly up the underside of her breasts as he reached above her head to unfasten the bonds and unravel the mage's safeguard. No sooner did he free her, the other two bystanders came forward with teeth snarling and gaping holes where rotting flesh once clung to bone.

"Step away from the woman and you won't die as slowly as you deserve!" said the second of the vampires, as he dragged up the courage to claim Cat for his own. Cat slid off the table and fashioned herself a pair of pants and a cotton tee. The three vampires turned on each other and caused enough of a distraction for her to slowly edge her way towards the mouth of the cave where a door separated her from freedom and this horrible chamber of death. With her back against the door she reached for the cold metal of the doorknob.

It slid through her palm without a sound. The fight grew fiercer as it went on. _Ok Cat…it's now or never._ She sprang into action, opening the door and turning quickly to make her escape. Pushing off into a sprint, she headed for the end of a long tunnel. Pumping her arms made her breath come out in puffs and her head began to pound in the back of her neck. Cat reached within her mind and brushed the barrier that blocked her way to Addrick. The pain began to build again like needles in her eyes and ears. She focused on her running, drawing strength with each pump of her arms.

Cat formed a mental sledgehammer and started breaking her way through the wall separating her mind from freedom. With each pump of her arm, she blasted her way to freedom from the mind barrier. Blood began trickling out of her ears and the corners of her eyes. She was closer now she could feel it.

The tunnel was now widening and forming what looked like a labyrinth of catacombs. Light shown from all angles so as to not give away the correct exit. She sensed old magic at stake there. She turned left, and then right pumping her arms harder. Straight, right, and then left. She could feel it now! The barrier was slipping.

Cat dropped to her knees and crushed her hand to her head like a vice. Blood poured through her clenched fingers and a ringing made her momentarily deaf from all other white noise. _God Addrick, please help me!! I'm in the old tunnels! _She felt it break then. Like fresh air and freedom, her mind was hers again. _I'm coming to you now mouse. Stay with me and don't break our connection! _

Relief crept through her body and she slumped to the floor, pressing her aching head to the cool damp soil. She found him. Thank God she found him. Now all she had to do was find a way out. Addrick was searching her mind feverishly memorizing her memories of the incident and the catacombs she found. _Can you walk pet? _Could she? Cat couldn't tell.

The blood was drying around her ears and on the sides of her face. _I can try Addrick. I can barley move my body. I feel trapped in my own skin. _

_You must keep moving Cat. You must get to the deepest part of the catacombs where the-_

_Shhh!! Addrick. I hear someone coming. If it's the mage then he'll put that barrier back up between us. Don't try to communicate with me!_

And just like that she blocked him away again, but this time he remained ever silent in the back of her mind. Like a whisper of hope. Cat needed the feel of him there and was comforted in the fact that at least she had that much of him there with her.

Like a wounded pup, she picked her self up and began crawling along the closet wall. The footsteps behind her grew louder as they approached her. The air burned in her lungs along with the familiar sting of tears behind her eyes. She didn't want to be put on that table again chained and vulnerable. Panic started to choke her as her body straightened and hovered off the floor.

"No…please not again. Please let me go. You have what you want." She sobbed out as she was now facing an army of vampires standing behind an evil man in a long black cloak. "What do you want from me!" she screamed using the last of her energy to bring out her frustration

"I already told you, my sweet. You've been a naughty child and broke my stone in two. But it is no longer the _only_ thing Idesire from you anymore." Xavier hissed out. Cat's eyes watched as he dragged the cloak away from his crippled looking arm. His fingers curled and tore the cotton tee away from her body, with surprising strength.

A sob escaped her lips and she became overwhelmed again. Xavier's palm rested over the flatness of her tummy. He looked into her eyes and smiled most wickedly. Her heart stilled. She counted the seconds as they slipped by. Reaching deep down inside, she felt a new light. A single star among the darkness, and then like a whisper in the dark…she heard a small movement within her womb.

"Yes child…yes." Pleased with himself, Xavier snapped his fingers and turned to have her brought back to the ritual room.

* * *

**(Author's Note)**

**Hi everyone : ) sorry to be away so long. I've been busy buying my first home. Yay! And in celebration of my new home i decided to pick the story back up and draw it closer to the exciting conclusion. **

**I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter and its new twist. And i want to take a moment to thank my favorite readers and new readers for reviewing my work and encouraging me to keep up with this story. And don't forget!! Shorty is coming in the next story. He keeps bugging me to finish Addrick & Cat's tale so i can start writing about his own. : )**

**Anyways i hope you enjoy and remember review if you can. Your advise and comments keep me steered in the correct direction.**

**-Ashley**

**P.S. **

**Special thanks to "**themeankitten" **The advise you gave about A character being a die hard fan of Amiee Lees' is a Great Idea!! I love it more than bringing a rock star into the story. Thanks for the advise!! and be sure to tune into the next store. i would love to hear your ideas about it : )**


	18. A Perscription to War

**So my friends...Its been over a year i would say and i have utterly neglected my story and ending nontheless to you all : ( terrible of me i know. Got diagnosed with cancer and needed to focus on health more than writing. BUT GREAT NEWS!!! IM IN REMISSION!! YAY! : )**

**So on to the second to the last chapter of this story before we move onto Shorty's tale ; ) Enjoy folks and thanks for reading!**

**-Ashley**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 18**

"I'm P-Pregnant…" Cat said in a tone barley able to detect due to how soft it floated in the stale air. "Yes my dear. You will provide me with not only the remainder of my stone but a child that has the rarest blood I have ever detected." The yellowish brown teeth were rimmed by black gums that taunted Cat as she floated helplessly behind Xavier back to the Ritual chamber.

"Yes the bloodline of the Prince is most intriguing to pass up…especially when laced with the power of the stone." Xavier dared to look behind him to see Cat's face. Wondering if she truly grasped what he was telling her, he laughed so hard spittle came running down his chin. "You have no idea what power this little stone possesses do you my dear…?"

Cat hung in midair, suspended by invisible binds, communicating as much of the information she could without openly communicating through the private path. Her wits about her she smoothly replied, "The stone produces a power greater than that of shielding your enemies?" The palms of Xavier's hands met in a loud crack to applaud his victim's realization of how dire her situation was.

"Very good my dear, you are doing very well at this game. Soon you will supply me with the child that lies within your womb and complete my plans for overtaking the Carpathian Race." The skeletal remains of Xavier's once strong hands clung like leather of twigs. The long black brittle nails were chipped in odd places as he drew one across the soft cheek of his victim. "Yes very good indeed."

He turned on a heel and continued with his quest back the inner chamber for the ritual. Cat very calmly opened a crack in the door to her mind. Allowing the information to flood through to the one person she knew could help. She could only pray that he didn't attempt to communicate with her, but use her as a tool for the location and plan the Dark being had laid for her people.

**O****oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo****O**

Addrick made it to the steps of the palace just in time to receive the flood of information pouring from his Catherine's mind. He stopped abruptly guarding his thoughts from soothing or contacting his lifemate. It killed him not to be with her but nevertheless; understood why his silence was important. In that moment, he couldn't have been more proud of Catherine. She stayed calm and never panicked when she discovered that not only was her life in danger but that of a child she never knew existed.

_Father. The location of the chamber has been revealed and I'm afraid we need to act quickly….we haven't got much time. Catherine is communicating to me by allowing her mind to be open. Once I talk, Touch, or communicate back the barrier will be shut and our position will be betrayed to Xavier._

Addrick waited a moment before continuing into the palace library where the council of warriors was holding a meeting. He gave a silent nod to his father. Gregori spoke immediately to the crowd advising of the new information, Catherine's pregnancy was not only soon but of a shocking caliber as well. There has only ever been a bloodline of Mage and Carpathian ever known, and the existence of that bloodline almost destroyed the race completely. The men, women, and children of their race had to move swiftly before the worse became a reality.

"The time has come my brothers, to band together and bring down an end to the mage. He has plans to use a blood bond with Catherine and slowly poison her body to infect the child. He plans to draw on her strength to weaken us and plant false memories and emotions in our unpaired men to throw them off the sent." The room was silent and powerful. Muscle and anger feed the room's already growing energy and the knowledge alone that their sister was captured and being hurt made more and more men eager to get into the fight.

There was a miniature model of the mountain they all rested on and the game plan was set. Each man had their objective. Each man had their half of a fake stone that was woven with a spell of protection. It was time to fight. The Warriors and hunters banded together for a victorious roar and filed out of the balcony window to get into position. Addrick followed to the end of the line when he was held back by Mikhail, Nicolae, and Gregori.

"You are not keeping me here when Cat is out there suffering because of me. I will not stay idly behind like a woman in fear! It is not our way!" Anger crossed Addrick's jaw as it clenched in defiance of his elders.

"We have no choice but to keep you close to this palace. There is a special bond between you and Catherine that is not known to the Carpathian race, and it has to do with this." Mikhail lightly touched the stoner around Addrick's chest. "For some reason, the stone has bonded to your soul to keep you and Catherine together. It is now a part of your beings and that kind of power can put you in serious risk of demise once on the battlefield." No matter how Addrick hated to admit it, he knew Mikhail was correct.

"We need you to relay to us locations and constant updates on happening and plans set before us. Your mind and body will share in the torment your lifemate is going through because of the stones bond to you both."

"Are you prepared to serve your Prince and country by staying behind and being a source of information to us?" Addrick stuck his chin out and bowed low before his Prince. Mikhail nodded slightly and exited the balcony in the form of vapor. A hidden look of pride shown brightly behind his father's tough exterior and with a clap on his shoulder, Gregori and Nicolae dissolved into mist to guard their Prince.

"So it begins….Please Cat….Hold on."


End file.
